Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn
by xan-vallen
Summary: A new threat has come to the land of Altea, blessed with years of peace since Marth and Roy's triumphant return. No one knows what this new threat is, only that its greed will destroy everything if it isn't stopped.Sequel to Fubuki no Kaen{warnings inside
1. False Dawn Rising

**Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn**

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: R

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan:  ^____^  I feel so productive – I literally finished FNOK one night and typed this chapter up the next day!  Well, this is the beginning to something new, hope ya like it!  By the way, it felt REALLY weird not to have any thank you's to do…  *weirded out*

Vallen: Hmmph. *stares at Xan* She's so weird sometimes… But I'm really happy about starting this. This means that we will have even more fun! And it starts… P.S. It's my birthday... ^^;;;;

          "We do pronounce you, King Marth of Altea, in desperate need of a suitable wife!"

          Marth tried hard not to stare at the small group of advisors who were standing before his throne, all of them looking anxious and for good reason.  

          "Pardon me?"  

          The advisor who had spoken first was pushed forward by his comrades.  He glared at them briefly before clearing his throat and trying to assume a confident appearance.  It didn't work very well, at least in Marth's eyes.

          "Your Majesty, I know you dislike this subject, but the fact of the matter is that you need an heir.  And a woman would do you good!  The entire court agrees that you need to settle down and focus on the affairs of the kingdom."

          "Are you implying that I have been shirking my duties as monarch?"  Marth asked icily, giving the man the cold stare for which he was known and feared.  Normally, he would not be so quick to get angry at his advisors, but as they had said, this was a topic that he preferred to discuss as little as possible, ideally not at all.

          The advisor, a small man with a growing bald spot that he was constantly trying to conceal shook his head rapidly, his brown eyes widening.

          "No, not at all, Highness!  It's just been noted that you've been prone to, ah… restlessness, even since your ascension five years ago!  We thought perhaps that marriage would calm you down!"

          The blue-haired King's expression soured.

          "Out!  All of you out, I'm having no more audiences today."  He stood and marched past the advisors, causing all of them to scatter.  He opened one of the large doors, ignoring their loud protests.  

          "Gwen, cancel everything that I had planned to do today.  I'm going to go relax.  If anyone needs me, tell them I don't want to be bothered unless it's a war, a plague or worse!"  Marth snapped, albeit unintentionally.  He wasn't angry at Gwen, just at everything else.  

          With that, he slammed the door and left.

          Remembering vaguely his own childhood escapades to avoid his lessons master and governess, Marth's ever-stealthy habits made it an easy task to escape out to the stables.  His royal garb had been replaced by common clothes – a simple blue tunic and breeches to make him marginally less recognizable, but these simple vestments could not hide his regal bearing.  The former prince and now young king of Altea had changed over the years.  He was a man of twenty-three years now and his features had only grown even more attractive and mature, his body the lean, hard trim of a warrior in his prime.  His mage powers had grown and increased as well, prompting many people to call him one of the most talented mages that Altea had ever seen.  

          But that didn't concern Marth as he walked through the royal stables, smiling at the curious heads that poked out of the stalls to watch him, ears perked with interest.  A lone stable boy caught sight of him and smiled, inclining his head – Marth was a frequent and welcome visitor.  Marth did the same, his spirits lifting a little.  It was such a change from when he and Roy had first returned to reclaim their titles.  No one feared them now.  He walked to Cloud's stall and found his faithful grey stallion glad as always to see him.

          "Happy about being a father?"  Marth murmured to Cloud, stroking his soft nose.  The horse snorted, arching his neck proudly.  

          A firm hand snaked around the royal's waist and a figure stepped up beside him.

          "Well it came as quite a surprise and my horse will be out for a while, so…" Roy said. "We'll see."

          Out of the two of them, the general's appearance had changed the most dramatically.  Gone were the skinny arms and legs, replaced by lean muscle.  His hair was still a messy bright auburn mop and he still wore a band around his head to keep some of it back and out of his face.  He was now nineteen, almost twenty years of age and had kept up his reputation as a fearsome general who had the power to control fire.  The only thing that hadn't changed were his intensely focused eyes.  His face had matured, yet not lost its boyish look and the fact that he had still not gained enough height to be taller than his partner.

          The teen was shirtless and looked like he had just returned from exercising.  Tiny sweat droplets shimmering on his skin acted as proof.

          Marth sighed heavily, leaning into Roy and nuzzling the younger man, enjoying the taste of his salty skin.  

          "They're pestering me about getting married again."  Marth told his general.

          "That's too bad…  Aren't I satisfying enough?"  Roy questioned, his eyes narrowing a little out of agitation.  Cursed advisors…

          "_I don't want to get married, you know that."  Marth answered, biting Roy's neck a little.  "Can't you start a war or something and get me out of it?"_

          "It'd almost be easier to fake my own death and assume on the identity of a woman, which I would _not_ like to do, so you'll just have to stall or something."

          "Hm… going to become Margaret again?"

          The general gave Marth a look and pushed him away, folding his arms over his chest.

          "You wish," he said haughtily.  "It is okay if you have a political marriage – I realize that the kingdom needs an heir – just as long as you don't forget about me.  People don't get curious when a general stays single, but a king…  I don't support you bedding a woman instead of me, but it's one of your duties as king to continue the royal line."

          Marth gazed at Roy, a bemused expression on his face.

          "I _suppose I should be glad that you're so supportive of my situation, but somehow I'm not."  Marth leaned back against the wall, crossing his own arms over his chest.  His expression suddenly seemed weary again.  "We're going to have to tell them about us eventually, you know.  Or they'll find out themselves and the __last thing that this kingdom needs is a royal scandal."_

          "Yes I know, but the people… will expect you not to let the family line die out.  It's no problem for me, because most of my subordinates don't really care about orientation…" Roy sighed. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

          Marth opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again.  He had nothing to say.  The monarch picked up a comb and began to brush the tangles out of Cloud's silvery mane.

          "Maybe we should ask Rowen."

          The general walked a few stalls down and entered his black mare's special, larger box.  She was chewing happily on some hay, her belly swollen with her unborn foal.  She was young, so this was probably her first baby, but they hoped that there wouldn't be any complications.  He patted her neck fondly.

          "Ah, the one advisor of yours that I _do_ tolerate.  I'm sure he would have something wise to say, as always.  You two can figure out this heir problem – just make sure it doesn't affect me, okay?  That would be frightening.  I, unlike my horse, am not going to have any children in my lifetime.  I still can't believe Cloud did that…  But I am interested to see what the foal turns out to be, though."

          "Me too.  I don't know why you're surprised – he's a stallion, she's a mare and that's what happens…  I'm only surprised that it didn't happen sooner."  Marth said. "I'm going to talk to Rowen in a little while.  Do you want to come?"

          "That should be okay, seeing as I've finished with my drills for the day.  You're sure I won't be in the way?"  Roy questioned, exiting the stall.  The teen, unlike Marth, did not hang around the barns when he was angry, for fear of something catching fire, but at times like these it was quite peaceful.  Granted, he had learned to control fire in all aspects, like putting it out, but the thought of something burning unnecessarily wasn't a pleasant thought.

          Roy had also taken over an important position as the capital's healer.  That power had also grown tremendously and he could heal a great many people at once now.  He kept busy, with being a general and everything, which was what he enjoyed more than anything else.

          "I'm sure you won't be, but I'll check."  Marth's mental powers spread out from him like mystical hands, tendrils searching for the mind he sought.

          '_Rowen?'_

          While Roy held powers over healing and the flame, Marth's specialty was ice, but he was also a very powerful mindspeaker, with range that could cover several miles.  His connection was particularly strong with Roy and Rowen, his old mentor.

          There was a loud crash inside Marth's mind as he connected with Rowen.

          '_Damn concentration…' Came the muttering curse of the older man. '_Yes, Marth_?'_

          The king bit his lip, trying hard not to smile.

          '_Did I interrupt something, Master?'_

          '_No…No…  Hold on a moment.'_

          The sound of clutter being moved around was heard before the weather mage replied again.

          '_Okay, I'm back.  What is it that you need?'_

          '_Could Roy and I come over and talk to you about a few things?  Or are you busy?'  Marth asked, wondering what on earth Rowen could be doing.  _

          '_Sure, come right on to my place now.  My furniture moving project can wait…' There was another loud crash – it sounded like a bookcase falling over. '__Ouch.'_

          Roy looked at Marth curiously.  His mental powers weren't nearly as strong as Marth's, so he wasn't listening in on the conversation.

          "What's going on?"

          "As far as I can tell, spring cleaning."  Marth replied, severing the connection between himself and Rowen cleanly, an amused expression occupying his face.  "Rowen thinks he's still young enough to move furniture around by himself.  Come on, let's go before he hurts himself."

          A few months after their 'triumphant return' to power, Marth and Roy had decided that they needed the old mage around, both for support and to continue training them in the magical arts.  And so Rowen decided to break his solitary ways and moved to the capital a few years back, much to their happiness and relief.  Marth had offered him his own small house on the castle grounds, correctly guessing that 'You can take a hermit out of solitude, but you can't take the solitude out of the hermit.'  The house allowed Rowen to preserve his privacy, but still ensure that he was close at hand at all times.  

          Rowen's cabin wasn't too far from the stables, so it only took Marth and Roy a few minutes to walk there and knock on the door.

          "You called?  Do come in…" Beckoned Rowen's voice from inside as the door swung open with a creak.  The mage's face had acquired a few more lines, a sign that he was indeed aging, but his amethyst eyes were still very much the same, lively and mischievous.  He wore evergreen robes and his graying shoulder-length brown hair still had tiny braids woven into it.  He had adjusted to his new home somewhat easily, but still got on edge when in a situation like the council room with many people.  He stayed away from social events and when forced to go, the weather outside usually turned into a downpour or worse.

          Marth pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside, eyeing all the furniture that was randomly scattered about.

          "Old man, what on earth are you doing in here?  It looks like a tornado went through here."  Marth paused, remembering Rowen's talents. "…There _wasn't a tornado, was there?"_

          Rowen thwapped Marth and Roy on their heads as the two men walked inside.

          "Don't be silly.  I was trying to make more room for my books, that's all."  He replied calmly, stooping over to pick a few tomes off the floor.  "What is it you needed to talk to me about?"

          Roy shuffled off to the side, folding his arms across his chest.  He brushed his hair back and settled against the door, which he also closed.

          "Marth seems to have this problem and he was wondering if you could help him."  The teen stated.

          "You make it sound as if it were just a spell that I can't master," Marth said quietly. "If Gaimen hadn't slaughtered all my relatives, I could designate a cousin or something to be my heir, but I'm the only Lowell left.  In order to continue the bloodline, I _must get married and have children.  I have no choice."_

          Rowen's brows raised at that.  He hadn't encountered this kind of problem before.

          "Well, why don't you?"

          The general in the corner coughed loudly, causing Rowen to realize the problem at hand.  Naturally, he had known about their relationship for a long time now.

          "_Oh."_

          "Yes, '_Oh.'  I don't know what to do."  Marth sat down, looking dejected.  _

          The weather mage sorted through one of the books in his arms, the history of their country.

          "Well, to my knowledge, I've never heard of something like this before.  A safe bet would be to arrange a political marriage, so you won't be required to love the lady.  Assuming that you and the general are going to stay together, of course."

          Marth gave Rowen a cold look, causing one of his braids to become encased in ice and several small objects in the room to freeze.  

          "That is a safe assumption.  Couldn't I simply adopt a child?"

          Rowen let out an exasperated sigh and fingered the frozen braid.  

          "I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work, but you'll have some issues with the people about pure blood, depending on the child."  He answered.

          "I'll make it work…" Marth muttered, sitting down in a chair.

          "Look, this is obviously causing you a lot of stress, but don't worry about it.  Things have their way of working out."  The teacher offered some sage words, hoping that it would help.

          Marth nodded, understanding the wisdom of Rowen's words.

          "I hope you're right…"

          "And of course you are of no age to be a parent.  You should be concentrating on ruling your country, not bedding some woman and producing a child, so tell your advisors to back off."  Rowen continued.

          Marth felt comforted and relieved by Rowen's assurance and was once again glad that they had come to the mage for advice.

          "Maybe you should talk to them for me.  They respect your opinion when you're not scared of you."

          The older mage grimaced, but was obviously pleased by the news that he frightened the men.

          "You know I hate people…  But I'll see what I can do."  He turned to Roy. "Sow how goes it with you?  Can't be half bad being a high general and a 'close friend' of the king."

          "Actually, I keep busy," Roy stated, looking down at his state of half-dress.  He had been working rather hard before he and Marth and come to Rowen's.  

          "Mm.  Seems like you two have matured quite a lot over these years…  How long have you been together?  Four years?  That's a long time to keep a secret."  

          "Five."  Marth corrected him in a quiet, happy tone.  "You should know, old man.  You were witness to our first kiss."

          "Hey, quit calling me 'old man.'  I'm not that old yet, oh ye gifted youth."  Rowen grumbled.  He went over to a table and poured the three of them cups of tea.

          "Come, sit down and give me an update on your magic.  I like to know what's going on."

          "There isn't much to tell.  I'm reading books on the ancient magics and practicing new spells, trying to improve myself as always.  But lately I've felt uneasy when I use my magic, and even sometimes when I'm _not using it.  It's ominous."  Marth frowned, remembering._

          "I don't like to use mine…  Fire's only useful if you want to cook or light a torch.  I like to heal though…  I'm getting better at it every time I heal someone.  There has been some activity with a few enemy soldiers on the border, but other than that everything's been fine."  Roy added, taking the cup of tea and sipping the hot liquid.

          "Sound's like everything's been fine for the both of you…" Rowen said distantly with a glance towards Marth.  His amethyst eyes glazed over a bit and he bowed his head, sitting down in a chair.

          The sound of horses galloping up to the little house caused Roy to turn towards the door.  Wordlessly, he burst through it and met the riders outside, slamming the door behind him.

          Roy came back inside a few minutes later.  His face was pale and tightly drawn.

          "I lied.  We have problems…  Marth, the soldiers are looking for you."

          To be continued…

          Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen…

Xan:  So didja like it?  Didja?  Didja?  Didja?!  *grins*  I liked the first line – it's just like the first line of FNOK except I changed it around a little.  I thought it was clever anyways.  *shrug*  It's amazing to think of how much Marth and Roy have changed, isn't it?  In the first chapter of FNOK, they couldn't stand one another and now they're being all twitterpated!  *happy sigh*  I TOLD you all that this one would fulfill all your little yaoi fantasies (and yes, this is just the beginning).  *looks mysterious*  And don't bother asking why the soldiers are looking for Marth!  It's a secret!

Vallen: Wah. After reading this over and over again, I'm more than happy with it… ^^ They're so cute together. Ah, yes… Where was I? Let's start the show! What did you think?


	2. The Fates

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: R (For now it is PG-13)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan: Well, here we go again… This chapter gets into the angst that y'all were asking for, and hopefully some character development and PLUS, we tell you what the soldiers wanted with Marth!  Whee!!

Vallen: PS, they're not bad soldiers… They just have some very bad news.  

Thanks to (written by Xan):  Dark Comet (Special kudos to you for being the very first reviewer!  Glad you liked it and everything, we couldn't resist bringing Rowen back 'cause he's just so cool.  ^_^ And there's no use asking about the soldiers – you know we never give anything away!  And Vallen got lotsa nice stuff!), tikimoof (The beginning is a little amusing, ain't it?  Marth has a definite problem with his advisors and so do Roy and Rowen, obviously.  ^_^), Bleu (Oh I'm sure Vallen would love it if you drew her something!  It'll get more interesting, I promise!  Their mood changes are fun to write, we really try to make them act like "real" people.), Spryte Andoloni (^___^ We loved the idea of the horses having a baby, so we stuck it in.  The horses are characters too, so its important to tell about what's going on with them in the story too.  Glad you think we do a good job on spelling and grammar, although it's mostly just Microsoft spell & grammar check.  *sheepish*  Hey, it works!), Slifer (Thank you!  We work really hard at making the fics pretty for y'all, so we hope you like them!), Syiax_Rafael (Hey now, no getting bored.  Updates will be _much_ more regular now that we've started posting this.  You aren't allowed to get nasty at us!  Hee, we're flattered, but you can't fail any classes 'cause of us!), Pichu*Star (Whee, fainting!  And it is back!  Heh, I like that "triumphant return" thing.  It's true!  Like we've said, it's important for us to "keep it real," so that's what we do.  And yay, thanks for the plushies!  Vallen's happy that y'all love her so much!), Crockgirl13 (Hee, I was proud of this beginning… it's weird 'cause Vallen began the last one and she doesn't like doing them at all, so started this one.  Random Xan-Vallen fact there.), Jennie (HA!  I TOLD Vallen that there was at least one person who checked the site every day!  Thanks for proving me right, your diligence has paid off!), Curious Dream Weaver (Heh, not that Roy would ever ACTUALLY do that.  It made Marth laugh though, so… *gasp* Oh my god, that means that Marth has a sense of humor!  Oh no!), Trogdor (Seeing as you don't know us in real life, you can't say we stink at everything.  Aaaaand if you think that we'll listen to somebody who isn't even brave enough to leave their OWN email address, you stick about ten times more than we do since your brain has obviously decayed inside your skull.), Persian Kittie (Foreshadowing to WHAT?  Roy or Marth is NOT getting pregnant, thank you!  Glad we're the exception!), pannybaby123 (Hee, why ARE the chapters looking for Marth?  Could it be… *trails off into mutters*  ^_^), Sherrilyn (^_^  Heh, that was all me, sorry to sound vain.  I'd had that beginning in mind for a while before we started writing and I'm glad at least one person appreciated it!), MysticalWoodElf (Hee, another person who checks obsessively!  We love you guys!  *shroofles the confetti out of Vallen's hair*  Aw, they wub you Val-chan!  And hey, patheticness is okay here!), RavenGhost (Yay, so happy you like it!), YoshiMars (Heh yeah Vallen's one of those generous types who gives presents to other people on her b-day.  And yes, they're all back!  We love our guys!), Rayestar Ikina (Oh don't worry, we don't.  Actually, we could block him but we don't just so we can have something to point and laugh at.  There seem to be a bunch of SSBM/marthxroy bashers all the sudden.  Wonder why.  Oh well, they're cowards, so who really gives a damn?), bladegryphon (We're working on it!), Sinnatious (Hell yeah!  Xan and Vallen DO ride again!  Sweet!  Yes, head-first into the drama on this one, that's for sure.  It's a nutty ride, this one.  The drama doesn't stop!  Whee, we're legendary!  *blushes*  Seriously, we NEVER expected all this, but we really hoped that y'all would like the sequel to our baby.  Yes, Rowen makes a triumphant return as well.  And we did make an effort to have the characters appear changed 'cause time does that, but keep their "core."  *snorts*  I sound all pompous. And of course, nothing but cliffhangers.  You expected less?), Shea (YES!  Hail the cliffhangers!), Escuro de la Lus (Yay, on the edge of seats is good!), The Flame Panther (Awww!  We feel so loved!  That was a short wait?  I knew we shoulda made y'all wait longer.  ^_^ Just kidding!), VanillaFire (Whoa, until 3 AM?!  *glompage*  *bad southern accent*  It's fans like you that make writing this fic the experience that it is!), rosekurama (Sorry, but we can't go around telling people when we're gonna update 'cause it would take waaaaay too much time and we never actually know!  So you'll just have to keep checking, like everyone else!  Glad you think it's awesome!), Kanashimi Ame (*secretive*  *a la Xellos* That… is a secret!  Seriously, that's privileged information.  If we told you, we'd have to kill you.), Evui (I like the first line too, but y'all guessed that already, I think. And of COURSE there's gonna be yaoi!  This IS a yaoi fic, we just couldn't get as into it in the first one, but this one's got more, so just keep readin'.), chibi fairy (Ooh, a PERFECT beginning, that's awesome that you think so!  But since you haven't read the whole thing yet [for that matter, neither have we ^^;;], you don't KNOW if it's a perfect beginning yet!), ALTLIMIT (Glad you like it, but we don't actually respond to advertisments on review pages... Sorry!), Thais (Oh don't worry, we will!), rex16 (Ya know, we love the praise but there is more than one author on here...), LilFilipinoGurl (You dare threaten US?!  *gives her the Xan-Vallen EVIL EYE*  Just joking, but don't worry, we're writing our tails off here!), and Kevin C ( We always like to see "new faces" on the review pages… Thanks and we're glad you found our fiction!).

          A frown flickered across Marth's features and the other two men could perceive the visible change that came over Marth's face as he shifted emotionally from quiet young man to powerful monarch.  

          "I expect to see the both of you at the castle shortly."  He told Roy and Rowen before rising and getting up to go meet the guards outside the cottage.  "What is the meaning of this?"

          Roy didn't acknowledge Marth – it was understood.  He went over to Rowen and shook him.

          "Come on."  Rowen did not move.  Mildly concerned, Roy reached out a hand and tilted the older mage's head upwards.  What he found in Rowen's face scared him.  The general ran outside just in time to hear the horsemen briefing Marth just as they had done to him earlier.

          "Several of our border scouts were found mauled in every sense of the word with a warning carved into their bodies.  We're trying to decipher it, but we haven't had luck yet…" The captain said. "You need not worry, Highness.  This is probably just a terrorist threat against the country.  The general – oh there he is, plans to take a group down to where we found them very soon.  Your presence is required at the capital, your Majesty.  The people are beginning to panic."

          Roy caught Marth's eyes.

          '_And when you get a chance,' the teen stated to Marth in thought-speech. '_Check inside…  It's Rowen…  He's not waking up and I don't know what to do_.'_

          Marth was silent for a moment, his mind rapidly sorting out every bit of information that he had just been told by his general and the Captain of the Guard.  

          "General, I want you to go with the captain and reassure the public – tell them that I shall speak to them shortly and offer an official explanation.  Keep them calm, we don't want a riot.  I would also like you to look over the cadavers.  You're a Healing Mage; perhaps you'll pick up on something that others would miss.  I also wish to inspect the bodies myself, but after I address the public."  Marth spoke all this aloud, but his real focus was on his thought-speech conversation with Roy.

          '_What do you mean he's not waking up?'_

          The teen-general bowed and went with his men.  With his back turned to Marth and as he was walking away, he answered the king mentally,

          '_I don't know…  He's just sitting there with his eyes open and looking like a zombie.  His eyes, Marth...  They're…  It's like he's not there.  __I'll be with you again in a little while.'  _

          Marth nodded.  '_Right.'  He went back inside to see the older mage with a touch of apprehension, feeling rather disturbed by what Roy had told him.  '__Rowen?__  Rowen?'_

          Rowen's face was deathly pale and his head was lolled back, leaning against the chair, lifeless violet eyes staring up at the ceiling.  The only sign that showed that he was still living was the shallow but even rise and fall of his chest.  But on the inside, within Rowen's mind, there was a storm of images that only the owner of the mind could comprehend or understand.

          Marth's frown deepened and he felt the anxiety rise and turn into real concern for his friend.  What was wrong with Rowen?  He placed his calloused fingertips upon his Master's temples and they began to glow blue.  He pushed farther into Rowen's tangled inner web, breaking a few of the inner barriers that protected the mage's mind.  He was afraid to go any deeper for fear of what may happen to himself or to Rowen if he went too far.  But Rowen wasn't giving any response; he just sat there like the dead.

          '_Rowen, what's wrong?  What do you see?'  He shouted into Rowen's mind, hoping to jostle him out of the stupor that he was in.  '__Rowen, wake up!'_

          The older man's body suddenly gave a great jerk and he let out a pained groan, abruptly snapping back to life.  He fell forward off of the chair twitching and onto his knees on the floor, his body shaking as if it was the middle of winter.

          "No…" Rowen moaned, fisting his hands in his own hair and pulling unmercifully as if it would draw away from the other great pain he was feeling on the inside.  "Marth… Roy…"

          Marth's nails dug into Rowen's wrists as he tried to pull the mage's hands away from his scalp before he injured himself.  His eyes showed the fear that he felt for Rowen and the real panic that was fighting to rise within him, but Marth was determined to stay calm and cool-headed.  No matter how much he tried to focus on the shaking man, questions like "What will I do if something happens to Rowen?" began to barrage his mind.

          "Rowen, get a hold on yourself!  Tell me.  Tell me what you see."  He commanded, forcing his voice to remain steady and calm.  "What about Roy and I?  What is it?"

          "Run."

          Rowen's eyes cleared and he stifled another moan, his entire body gradually relaxing into a limp, shivering state.  He gazed wearily up at Marth and tried to push himself back up into a sitting position, but failed.  The mage was quiet now, a strange expression upon his face.  

          Upon seeing Rowen look just a little more alive again, Marth felt his own body relax a fraction.  Muscles that he didn't even know were tensed slowly loosened and he pulled Rowen back up into his chair, brushing the mage's hair back from his face.  His insides were still tight from the chilling tone in which Rowen had spoken that one word.

          "Rowen, talk to me.  What did you see?"

          Rowen's hands shook as he ran them through his long brown hair messily, rubbing his temples.

          "I…" He croaked out. "Tell Roy not to touch the bodies – they may be cursed.  _I_ might know what's going on."

          Marth took a deep breath, glad to hear Rowen speak again.  

          "Are you alright?  What happened?"

          Without waiting for an answer, Marth immediately contacted Roy mentally.  He was in such a hurry to share Rowen's warning that he 'stumbled' badly and inadvertently 'crashed' into the general's mental signal.

          '_Roy!'  He gasped.  '__Don't touch the bodies!'_

          There was a crumbling block between Marth and Roy as Roy fumbled for the connection and finally found it.

          '_I already did, why?  There's nothing really abnormal except the markings and cause of death.  I'm about to see if there's anything left of their minds.'_

          "_Don't!"  Marth cried both aloud and mentally.  '_Just wait until Rowen and I get there, understand?  Something is wrong_.'_

          '_Alright…  Tell me what's going on when you get here.  Hurry.'  Roy responded and cut the connection.  _

          He hauled Rowen to his feet, supporting the heavier man's weight with minimal difficulty.  

          "C'mon, old man…  You can't go out on me now…"

          Rowen bit his lip to stifle yet another groan, trying hard to walk with Marth.  His legs wobbled unsteadily, but his face was a mask of grim determination.  Rowen is a tough old man… he'll be fine, Marth thought, watching him out of the corner of his eye.

          "Sorcerer…  Invasion…  I have to tell you…" He choked out.

          "_Invasion?"  Marth repeated in a shocked tone.  He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, replaced by a gnawing pit of disbelief, horror and fear.  Rowen hadn't said invasion… had he?_

          "I have to tell you everything…  A long time ago, I didn't choose to become a hermit…  I had to run," Rowen said, catching his breath. "The magic of Altea was banished by him, the sorcerer…"

          The blood drained from Marth's face.  One man.  If what Rowen was saying was true, then a single man had the power to destroy the magical power of an entire nation.  

          "Shut up and don't talk until we get to the castle.  Save your strength."  Marth ordered through clenched teeth, helping Rowen to walk out of the cottage.

          The weather mage was silent and surprisingly enough did as he was told, which told Marth almost more than anything else that Rowen was definitely not feeling himself.  Eventually they came upon the area where the bodies had been taken for analysis, around the back of the castle infirmary.  Roy looked slightly agitated as he walked up to them.

          "What _is_ it?  I've been waiting for you to show up, so what's going on?"  He asked sourly.

          "We're going to be invaded by an insanely powerful mage who apparently banished all of the magic from Altea decades ago, we have mutilated bodies coming in from our border with Pharae and Rowen is on his death bed, so please excuse my tardiness."  Marth said quietly, setting the mage down in a chair.  

          A loud buzz of disbelief and conversation started up amongst the guards, causing Roy to whirl around, his face angry.

          "Shut up!  Don't say another word unless I say you can!"  He yelled snappishly before turning back to Marth and Rowen, eyes blazing.  The temperature was rising.  "I'll try and heal him…  Where'd you get that information?"

          Marth pointed to Rowen.

          "He told me.  He knows something about what's happening and it took all his strength just to be able to speak to me.  I don't know what's going on, with Rowen or with Altea, but we have to talk to him and find out what he knows immediately."

          "Fine," Roy answered shortly, placing his hands upon the other mage's chest.  An orange light engulfed the two of them and the teen closed his eyes tightly in concentration.  He felt his power being sucked into Rowen like a sponge and he opened his eyes wide with surprise.

          '_His magic must have really been drained…  It's taking most of mine just to restore it…' The general exclaimed mentally, still encased in the orange light._

          '_Then borrow mine.'  Marth offered._

          "Hurry up and come over here…" Roy said under his breath, reaching out for Marth with one glowing hand.

          Marth walked over and clasped Roy's hand tightly, sending his icy magic flowing through the pyromancer.  The glow that now surrounded all three of them changed to orange with blue shimmering over it.  

          Rowen's eyes opened once again and he put his hands over Marth and Roy's.

          "That's enough," he said softly.

          The general cut off the power almost immediately and fell to his knees, gasping for breath.  He'd never tried that before, but he was very glad that it had worked successfully.  Rowen did look a little better and was now sitting up straighter in the chair, but his amethyst eyes were still strangely dull and weary.  Marth reached down and pulled Roy to his feet, steadying him in a friendly, but not _too_ friendly manner.  They were still in public.  

          "Before you or your parents were born, magic ran wild and rampant all over the entire world.  I was born in the middle of a great magic war, when a single sorcerer sought to stamp out all knowledge and existence of magic – all but his own, of course.  He accomplished this and has been controlling all the other countries behind the curtains ever since, slowly pulling the strings to manipulate them however he desired…  I…  I suppose he's after you now," Rowen said, speaking slowly and seriously.

          The young king of Altea listened, his face too still, too calm.

          "… I'd like to discuss this further inside."

          Rowen stood shakily from his chair, nodding agreement.

          "That would be more suitable for the things that I'm about to tell you," he said quietly.

          The general had risen up as well and was now standing a little to the side, collecting himself and his thoughts.  Unlike Marth, his emotions were displayed on his face – anger, fear and apprehension.

          The three men moved to Marth's private chambers, after leaving orders to the guards to move the bodies to a secure location to be isolated and held until they could further inspect them.  The room was secluded and well guarded where they had little chance of being disturbed or overheard.  Marth collapsed into his large chair, now wearing long mage robes in varying shades of blue.  He had to address his people soon, but did not feel like wearing full court regalia.

          "First, who _is_ this mage and why is he only attacking _now_?"  Marth asked, looking intently at Rowen.

          "No one knows his name.  And my only guess as to why he's attacking now is that yours and Roy's powers are at their height.  Maybe he feels threatened by you two…  When I was blacked out a little while ago, I saw things, a future that I would not like to have come true.  You can run or you can fight," Rowen choked, his eyes misty from memories of the demons of his childhood.  "I chose to run, but I don't know what you will do.  Altea will be under attack by Pharae, your neighboring country, within a week."

          Marth's face tightened.  He would not roll over and allow Altea to be defenseless at a time like this!

          "Strengthen our defenses on the Altea-Pharae border immediately.  I will _not_ lose my country now, not after everything it's been through…  Rowen, of what power does this mage possess?"

          Roy nodded and shifted his weight nervously, glancing from Rowen to Marth.

          "Yes, sir."

          "He has no specific power… but has instead mastered every element known to man.  The last time he battled, he used armies of men who had ceased to live…"  

          "Powers of the dead…  So he's a Necromancer among other things…" Marth pursed his lips. "Can you recall how he was driven off?  Or did he even attempt to take Altea?"

          Roy frowned,

          "What do you mean, 'powers of the dead?'"

          Rowen shook his head, rubbing his temples to no effect.

          "I don't remember…  It's all… gone.  And Roy, I meant that he has the power to raise people from the dead and use them as his undead slaves for battle and other such things.  Zombies, to put it crudely."

          The general's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed angrily.  He let out a growl and clenched fists that erupted into flames.

          "That's _great_."

          Marth didn't even attempt to calm Roy; his anger would just have to burn itself out in time, like an oil fire.  And besides, Marth was angry as well and one of them had to keep a cool head.

          "So you're telling us that we're going to be attacked by an army of our own _dead?!"_

          "Precisely."  The weather mage held his head in his hands.  "I'm so sorry…  Your magic turned out to be a double-edged sword."

          "I never wanted mine in the first place and now I have to answer to some psycho because we got too powerful!"  Roy grumbled, beginning to pace around the room.

          "No, it's me."  Marth fingered the blade of Falcion as he thought.  "When was the last time Altea had a strong young king who is also a powerful mage?  I think it was I who attracted his interest…"

          "Fine.  _You_ go and be the martyr for your country!"  Roy snarled, his eyes blazing.  He whirled around on his heel and stormed out of the room, his irritation lingering even after he was gone.

          Rowen walked over to stand at Marth's side, placing a hand upon the king's shoulder.  

          "I will do what I can to help you, but I'm afraid that it won't be enough."

          "It'll be fine," Marth said through clenched teeth.  "I'm not going to lose everything _now_."

          He ran after Roy until he caught up with him and grabbed the back of Roy's tunic, whirling the general around so that they were face to face.

          "Do _not_ walk away from me, you little brat!  I am the king, you are my general and we have a crisis on our hands and all you can think about right now is your own foolish pride!  _Grow up, Roy!  This is too important for that!"_

          "Leave me alone!"  Roy cried, hiding how hurt he was from Marth's words and reaching back to free his tunic from Marth's grip.  "So you decided to pull rank on me again, huh?  I'm just going to do my part of this and organize the army…  Is that all right with you, Sir?"

          Marth stepped back, his eyes going hard and expressionless.

          "That will be satisfactory, general.  I expect a full report as soon as you get the operation underway, with estimates and when we can be expected to mobilize.  Is that understood?"

          "Yes, your Highness."  Roy stated firmly, punching Marth square in the jaw.  He stared back evenly into the king's eyes, trembling slightly.  "I will fulfill your expectations."

          Marth's face snapped to one side because of the force of the blow, but he turned it back slowly to stare at Roy, his eyes blistering with cold anger.

          "See that you do, general.  You are dismissed."  The king turned and walked away from his lover, rage threatening to break the ice that contained it under the surface of his face.  

          Roy did the same, fiery heat radiating from his body as he made his way down the hall to his room, which wasn't far from Marth's at all.  He pulled on some clean clothes, dark grey breeches, a red tunic, black-plated body armor and a flowing cape – in other words, his general garb.  The teen went off to find his officers to discuss the impending war.

          _I don't like this…_

          To Be Continued…

          Xan:  Hm, this one was fun to write.  I liked all the Rowen-ness and how we find out about him and lots of good inner-thought process-y junk too!  Heh… But I'm just waiting for the THIRD chapter!!  And then y'all are REALLY gonna hate us.  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  *vanishes, cackling*

          Vallen: Hey, sorry if that was too much information to cram into your head, but in short: Marth and Roy have a lot of problems on their hands. Meh-heh, I want to write Rowen's Story…


	3. When There's Smoke

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (Will be changed later)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan:  *evil laughter* Here it is, the infamous chapter three!  This one is reeeeeeeeeeeally long, guys…  Took me a while to type up.  But hopefully it's worth it.  Oh yeah if you're prone to motion sickness, grab a barf bag 'cause this one's a freakin' roller coaster ride…  

Vallen: And Xan loves to think that she's funny… You guys didn't actually laugh at that one, ne? For shame!

Thanks To:  Pannybaby123 (Yes, poor Marth and Roy.  That's certainly the theme for this one… Poor Marth and Roy…), Syaix_Raphael (^_^  We make people miss busses.  WHEE!  *coughs*  Seriously, that's not cool tho.  No missing busses!), YoshiMars (^________________________^  Oh you have no idea how much I like this chapter!  *happy happy happy happy happy*), Crockgirl13 (Thanks!  We love writing, so there will be plenty of stories to read!), Lil PriNCeSs Me (Hey, it's okay!  Vallen and I understand about brothers.  She has one and I have two and they can be a pain.), Spryte Andoloni (*dies laughing*  Pig in heat!  Sorry but that amused me beyond all reason.  And yes, Rowen is acting weird, poor Rowen!  Marth and Roy gotta help him sometimes too, ya know.  He's not exactly a spring chicken.  *avoids being smacked by Rowen*  Sorry Rowen!  *blinks at Nobel Peace Prize*  Er thanks!  Even though we cause more wars than we end, it's cool!), RavenGhost (There's a psycho guy after BOTH our boys!  Marth's just a martyr, like Roy said.  WHEE, somebody likes this one better than the original!  Vallen and I don't have favorites, but we're glad you like 'em!  And of course it's still good!  I love chocolate milk.  ^^;;), MysticalWoodElf (Yes yes, Even Marth and Roy have fights.  But they're sososososo cute when they're not fighting that it's okay.), Shea (Yesssss, stressss is a good thing!  Makes for fun character dynamics.  Glad y'all like it too!), Kevin C. (Oh yes, ALL their hands are going to be VERY full for a while.  It's gonna KEEP twisting and turning right up until the very end, I think, so I hope you like it!), Dark Comet (This sorcerer is waaay beyond a maniac… but you'll find that out later.  And no, no telling!  That wouldn't be as fun!), chibi fairy (You're right, Rowen IS getting too old for this.  Poor guy.  And Marth and Roy HAVE to fight every once in a while.  They're only human too ya know.  ^_^), tikimoof ("There is no Rowen, only Zoul…"  Sorry, ghostbusters reference in there.  ^^;;  And yeah, everyone's pretty pissy 'cause of the pressure and stress and crap, but that's the way the cookie crumbles…), Jennie (We ARE cruel!  Maybe Vallen and I should change our title from "Official Marth and Roy Tormenters" to "Official Reviewer Tormenters"  ^_^  But yes, it does set things up nicely, doesn't it?  Neeheee!), The Flame Panther (Er… sorry, no freaky skeletal dragons!  Lotsa scary dead zombie people though!  And yes, I think you ARE the only person who doesn't mind waiting!  What's wrong with you?  *eyes* Just kidding.), Moiras (Hm I agree that Vallen should write Rowen's Story.  I wanna know more about him too!  Makes me wanna write Trave's Story… although the ratings would be too high for ff.net I think.  ^^;;), Rayestar Ikina (*laughs*  Dude, we love Ronin Warriors!  But I don't get Rowan of the Strata mixed up with crazy magical old dude Rowen, so I don't have that problem!  The Rowen angst gets toned down from here, so don't worry!  And yes, reviews are appreciated, even if my hands cramp from typing all these thank yous!), Curious Dream Weaver (Yes, zombies!  Zombies are really really really fun to write, so yeah… we decided to use them.  Besides, we just like the title of Necromancer!  ^^), Sinnatious (Yep, into each life a little rain must fall ya know.  Or a bunch of living dead guys must pop out of the earth or something like that.  ^^;;  No, time hasn't changed Marth or Roy's temper so they're still as clashy as ever.  I love that "bag of giggles" comment, it cracked me up.  And no, none of our sequels are EVER "mild continuation" to anything.  FNOK2 could in theory be read as its own story and we like it that way.  Hope you like this chapter as much as the others.  *evil grin*), bladegryphon (*zips lips*  Can't tell!  But here's more, hope ya like!), Pichu*Star (Well… there are definitely other stories that have more reviews second chapter out, but we're very proud of our almost 60 reviews so soon!  It'll be interesting to see if this one surpasses FNOK that way.  Who knows?  Well, Marth and Roy are too much in love to go back to hating each other, but the tenseness does grate on nerves, but you'll just have to see what happens…), Kanashimi Ame (^_^  Hee, that was a pretty bad cliffhanger, wasn't it?  But it's nothing compared to some others we have planned… *coughs*  Like this one…), LilFilipinoGurl (*reassures*  Oh I know, I  was just playing!  Hee!  *gasp gasp gasp… GASP!*  Like that?  It's fun writing suspense and seeing you guys' reactions.), Evui (Yay, 'nother big fan!  Thank you!  And no hate sex, sorry!  Both of them have had baaaaaaad experiences with that, ya know.), Persian Kittie (*snicker*  A spat, well I guess that's right.  *sweatdrops* Don't let Rowen hear you talking about him like that.  He'll go Morpheus on your ass!), and rex16 (No problem… Thanks! That's always nice to hear… *rocks out*).  

          "…So please, people of Altea, do not fear and have faith in me, for I will do everything in my power to ensure peace and safety for everyone."

          Marth finished addressing his public and waited a moment, waving to the cheering crowd before going back inside the castle.  A few days had passed since he and Roy had fought and it was difficult not to notice how worn ragged the young king was – he had been running around trying to keep his people from panicking ever since the news of the mutilated soldiers had spread while at he same time organizing his country's defensive forces.  He didn't dare attack the hidden enemy since he had no idea where or why the enemy was attacking since it would be nothing but foolish.

          "Where's Roy?"  He asked, fatigue evident in his tone. "Gwen, do you know where Roy is?"

          Gwen was no longer the slave that she had used to be.  With the right nutrition and care, she had grown a bit, leaving behind her gaunt frame.  Her blond hair was kept trimmed neatly at her shoulders, but her eyes were still haunted – that was something that she could never change or hide.  She was content to be a servant to the king and was now wearing a white blouse over her flat torso and a cute, light purple skirt.  

          Her eyes saddened a bit and she looked down at the floor out of habit.

          "He hasn't left the meeting room.  He's been in there for a long time and the doors are locked – No one goes in and no one comes out.  Sir Rowen was looking for you though."  She answered softly.

          "Gods."  Marth massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger.  "Why in the hell did I set him off like that?  I know his temper…  I'm a fool."  He was silent for a long moment before he raised his head again.  "Gwen, where's Rowen then?  Did he say what he needs me for?"

          "He's in your chambers.  He figured you'd return there sooner or later…  Do you want me to come with you?"  The servant-girl bit her lip.  "Maybe… Sir Roy is not avoiding you so much…  Maybe he just needs time to think?"

          "Perhaps.  I hope you're right and not I."  Marth straightened up.  "Yes, please accompany me.  I may need you to do something for me."  

          He turned and walked to his private chambers with Gwen at his heels.  He opened the door to find Rowen indeed sitting inside in a comfortable, high-backed easy chair.  

          "You need to see me?"

          The older mage nodded slowly, his amethyst eyes showing stress and wear.

          "Yes.  I spoke with Roy briefly," Rowen motioned to his head.  "And he wants to leave for the border tonight and set up a base camp.  I tried to talk him out of it, but he's got his mind set and is going to tell you about it soon.  He also says it's the best thing for the defense of the country and that you would probably agree.  What do you think?"

          "I think he's being rash, but perhaps I'm wrong."  Marth replied after a moment's thought.  "I am reluctant to take any decisive action until we are completely sure of where the enemy is and what we should do, but he may know better than I.  I just don't know anymore."

          Roy burst in, closed the door behind him, then leaned against it with his arms folded across his chest.  

          "You're talking about me…  Rowen, you told him…" He accused, and then eyed Marth.  "And I'm not being rash.  I'm not thinking about attacking, just setting up defenses."

          Marth nodded.

          "I understand, Roy and I respect your judgment.  Do as you will."  The king was tired; too tired to verbally spar with his lover right now and besides, he had complete faith that Roy would make the right decision.

          Gwen was the first one to notice someone knocking urgently at the door.  She hurried over and opened it a little, speaking with the person on the other side.  After a moment, she hurried back to the three men.

          "Sir Roy, your horse is having a baby now…"

          Roy's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at Marth before rushing off.

          Marth took off, following closely at Roy's heels.  The country was in a state of national emergency but this was still important.

          A few grooms were standing around the stall, but they left at Marth and Roy's arrival.  Marth grabbed one of them, drawing him aside.

          "How is she doing?"

          The groom, an old man who had been present at the birth of many a foal, smiled a little.

          "Aye, she's a strong young mare.  She'll do fine and so will her foal.  Ye needn't worry, Majesty."

          Marth nodded.  "Thank you."  He watched outside the stall.

          The problem with Roy was that whatever strong emotion he was feeling, it would radiate from his body and affect most of the people around him.  Unlike Marth, he was not very stoic, so right now he was a bundle of nerves.  He stood away from the king and paced around a bit, reluctant to stand next to or even speak with Marth.

          "Look Roy, I shouldn't have said those things to you."  Marth said quietly.  

          Cautiously, the auburn-haired young man stepped up and stood outside the stall next to his partner.

          "I'm trying, okay?  I've had to act like an adult all my life and now I'm _trying_ to handle this like a… mature general.  I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you in the process…  I'm trying to grow up."  Roy said quietly, bowing his head.

          Marth reached over and touched Roy's hand lightly.

          "It's alright, Roy.  We're both just stressed and tired.  It won't be like this forever."

          "Oh really?"  The general questioned, jerking his hand away.  "Do you know how very unlikely it sounds that we're going to win this?  I've thought about what Rowen said and our chances aren't very good.  Then where will we be?   Dead, that's where…" He heard a short piercing whinny from the stall and burst in.  He had decided beforehand to let the mare give birth naturally without human help, but he would be there just in case.  Roy kneeled down next to the mare and her foal, keeping an eye on the mother and began to towel off all the birthing residue.  His unnamed mare's coat was covered with a heavy sheen of sweat and her still-swollen belly was rising up and down quickly with each breath.

          Marth watched Roy with the horses silently, mulling over his general's words.  

          The little male foal was a brilliant milky white color, a luminous shadow to his midnight black mother.  He struggled to his feet, his thin spindly legs trembling and took his first few faltering steps toward the mare.  He found her teat and began to drink greedily, his little scrub tail flicking back and forth rapidly.

          "I do not intend to die, Roy.  If I were going to die, I would have done it at Trave's as a slave with no hope of escape or even survival.  But not now, not when we still have a chance.  But I refuse to just lie down and let some son of a bitch destroy me, my country and everything I've worked so hard for."

          Roy stood and brushed himself off, standing off to the side of the two horses and thinking it best to leave them alone for now.  After a moment, he exited the stall and went to Marth.

          "I'd rather talk about this somewhere more private please.  I'm going to call the horsemaster and leave them in his hands…"

          "One moment," Marth looked at the small foal.  "Aren't you going to name him?"

          "I don't know.  There's a reason why I don't name things…  Would you like to?"  Roy moved away and called for the master of horses.

          "Onyx."  Marth said after a moment of thought.  "His name is Onyx."  He should have known better than to ask Roy to name something anyways.  After six years, he still called his horse "Blackmare."  

          The general returned, giving his horse and her foal a final look before taking hold of Marth's arm (but not in a way that people would suspect their partnership) and pulled him away.

          "It's getting dark."  Roy murmured.  "I should be leaving soon."

          "Please don't do anything foolish while you're there.  I don't like it when I can't keep an eye on you."  Marth said quietly.  He knew he had no need to play nursemaid to his general – Roy was an accomplished general, warrior and mage, but this new threat concerned him far more than anything else that they had ever before faced.  He got a bad feeling every time the memory of the soldiers' bodies crossed his mind.

          Roy's eyes narrowed at Marth and he let go of the king's arm abruptly.

          "I can take care of myself.  And it's not like I'm going and waging war against this supposed 'army of zombies' that Rowen told us about.  I'm merely setting up defenses along the border with the ultimate protection of the capital in mind.  I'm older, Marth, and… you don't have to worry about me."

          Marth shook his head,

          "I know you're capable, Roy.  All I'm saying is be careful.  I don't want anything to happen to you."

          The teen relaxed visibly and moved back closer to the blue-haired man.

          "I'll be fine.  Don't forget to take care of yourself too."  After making sure that no one was in the vicinity, he leaned up and kissed Marth needily.

          The young king gave into the kiss and pulled Roy to him in a tight embrace, needing it as much as Roy.  But after only a minute, he pulled away reluctantly, eyes downcast.

          "Go," he said.  "Before I forbid you from doing it."

          Roy reached with one hand and fingered a lock of Marth's hair softly.

          "I'd like to see you try, your Highness."  He shook his head and turned away, breaking out into a run for the barracks.

          Marth watched after the general for several long minutes before turning and walking heavily back towards the castle.

          Roy had now been gone for a few days and Marth had adjusted to his partners' absence relatively well – it wasn't too difficult, as he was kept very busy by the new developments that had arisen.  But he made time to go by and visit Blackmare and the newly named Onyx at least once a day.  Marth had become quite attached to the little white foal.

          "You should be proud," he told Cloud, feeding the stallion an apple one day.  He had found half an hour's worth of peace and decided to pay his faithful steed a short visit.  "Even Rowen likes him.  Which reminds me, I need to speak to him today…"

          "Your Highness!"  Came a shout from the outside.  "Your Highness, are you in there?!"  

There was a thump, the sound of someone dismounting a horse clumsily, outside the stables.  The doors were thrown open, revealing a messenger decked out in the royal livery, dirty and torn.  But he didn't look human; his face a cadaverous color and quite pinched.

          "I have… a letter."

          He fell dead, the envelope slipping from his clammy blue fingers.

          Marth stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at the former messenger.  Horror filled his every pore and his head echoed with Rowen's words:  "_The last time he battled, he used armies of men who ceased to live…"  "__So he's a Necromancer…"_

          Cloud snorted in alarm, rousing Marth sharply from his shock.  The king stepped forward slowly and picked up the letter with a hand that he was trying in vain to prevent from trembling.  He tore it open and scanned the words.  It was in Roy's messy handwriting, scribbled on the paper hastily,

          __

_          Marth,_

_                   I don't know how to put this, but I think things are beginning to happen.  My men are suddenly falling ill and then dying within a few hours.  It was twenty men this morning…  I tried to heal them, but their bodies just sucked my power in without any change.  Help me- I don't know what to do_.  

          The letter was signed and had the imprint of the fire-in-ice stone.  It was dated the day before.

          Marth swore violently, re-read the letter and then swore again.  He wanted to run to Roy right then and there, but he knew that that would be foolish and rash.  Instead, he threw Cloud's bridle on him and rode him hard to Rowen's.

          "Rowen!"  He shouted as loud as he could to get the mage's attention, jumping nimbly off the still-moving animal.  "Rowen!"

          The weather mage stuck his head out of one of the front windows, looking alarmed, having heard the tone of Marth's voice.

          "What is it?"  He asked, concerned.  

          "Read this."  Marth thrust the letter at Rowen.  "They're in trouble Rowen.  Something bad has happened and I have to go find them.  Immediately."

          Rowen motioned for Marth to stay put while scanning the letter.  He disappeared through the window, then met the young king outside.

          "You're right to be worried about this, but I'm sure you know not to go galloping off.  Why didn't I sense anything…?"  He looked distressed, but was playing the adult and keeping calm.  Several books with papers jammed between the pages were in his arms – he had been doing nothing but research since the last incident.

          "Have you learned anything?"  Marth asked, eyeing the stack of tomes.  "Anything that would help?"

          "Just the usual…  He's over a hundred years old, appears to be only twenty or so, and has powers beyond imagination, as you already know…  There's not much on his background, but it looks like he was born in Pharae to a pretty powerful family.  His ascent to power story isn't that different from yours, actually.  I guess he just succumbed to dark magic…  And is known for his skill of strategy and his powers.  I suppose this recent incident is part of his plan.  I think you should send someone down there immediately…"

          "I did that already and all the men are dying if they're not already dead by now.  I'm not about to make the same mistake twice.  I'm going myself with a small platoon of soldiers.  Rowen, I know it's asking a lot of you, but I need you to stay here and run things while I'm gone.  With Roy and I _both gone, you're the only one who can do it."  Marth looked at Rowen, nearly imploring the older mage to give his assent._

          "Oh my… well…  You probably have no idea as to how bad of a decision that is, but if you have that much faith in me, I think you should go now.  It's getting dark already…" Rowen answered, chewing on a fingernail nervously.  "Are you worried about Roy?"

          "Gwen and Farro will help you.  They know how to run things almost better than I."  Marth named his loyal Chief of the Guard and his personal servant.  "I'm returning to the castle briefly for supplies and to gather my men…" He stopped, looking down at his hands.  "Of course I'm worried about him.  He could be a corpse right now, rotting alone and cold.  But I know he's not… somehow.  As a king, a lover and a friend, this is my duty."  He took the letter from Rowen and jumped back onto Cloud, racing towards the castle.

          One could smell the odor of death even before approaching the base camp.  Bodies littered the ground like autumn leaves and it was absolutely silent, unnaturally so.  There was not one sign of life through the whole area, except for the ominous slapping of a tent flap in the wind.  It was the largest tent, right in the center of the camp and now smoke was wafting out of it, the smell lingering in the air.   There was no fire in sight.

          Marth dismounted and handed Cloud's reins to his second-in-command, his eyes fixed on the smoke.  Where there was smoke, there was fire.  And where there was fire…

          "All of you stay here.  I'm going to inspect this myself."  He commanded quietly.

          "But your Majesty…" The sergeant began to protest, but Marth's blazing blue eyes stopped him.

          "Do not disobey me."

          He approached the tent from which the smoke was floating lazily upward and spread his powers out to sense what was inside.  

          '_Roy?'  He asked, pulling back the tent flap._

          The smell of burning flesh assaulted Marth's senses as the vision of a massacre lay before his eyes.  Bodies on the ground, all burnt to a crisp were horrifying to even glance at.  One body in particular in the center was wearing the general's clothing.  The skin was charred black and cracked and half his face had been burned off completely with bodily fluids oozing from the mauled skull.  The bright auburn hair had nearly been burned clear off the scalp.  One lifeless blue eye seemed to stare into Marth's soul and there was no sign of the flame that had once flickered within the ice around Roy's neck.  It was dead.

          And then Marth died.

          To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Xan:  I have just one thing to say:  I love my job.  ^___________________^

Vallen: And that smiley was a little too big… Try to act excited, Xan. *raises eyebrow* 


	4. FireinDeath

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (R later on)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan:  *hides from all the pissed off readers* I TOLD you chapter three was a doozie!  And I take full responsibility for that cliffhanger, so all of y'all lay off of Vallen.  That was AAAAAAAAAALL me.  But I got this chapter typed up doublequick to make up for that, so…  This one doesn't have a huge cliffhanger, at least not like that one, so I hope you're happy about that.  I don't think there will be any more cliffhangers that bad for the rest of the fic… the main word there being "think."  

Vallen: *hiding under a rock with Xan*  I mean… There wouldn't be a story without a conflict, right? We just happen to be having a thunderstorm of conflicts right now… Oops.

Important Note: You may see the name "Jorn" later on in the chapter- This is one of the made-up countries that border Altea. It's just something we made up.

Thanks to:  Rayestar Ikina (*coughs from the smoke* Please get over it soon so you can read the next chapter!), Slifer (I'm sure you're not the only one confused! Just wait and bear with us!), Escuro de la Lus (Ack! *runs away from stapler*), The Flame Panther (You were expecting it? Darn... We were trying to be original! ^^V), Magical Mage (That's awesome! ONE person who liked the last line... *hugs*), rex16 (You're welcome. I'll check those out later when I have the time), tikimoof (*wince* I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive us!), Syaix_Rafael (I think we might as well hang ourselves to get away from all the angry readers! But thank you for liking our work! ^^;;), chibi_fairy (I think after this cliffhanger, they're beginning to lose their charm on me... But you shall see.), MintyDreams7 (Heh. I won't accept it either! My Roy-chan CAN'T be dead!), bladegryphon (*sigh* Yes, another evil one... Forgive us! We tried to get this chapter out sooner), RavenGhost (I'm sorry, light will be shed on everything soon! We hope you're not so confused after this one!), Pichu*Star (You are correct! If the story ended there, we would be horrible authors! But we do live to please!), Li Kayun (Oh believe me, we'll fix it! It'll be all better... Er, somewhat better soon! We did promise angst...), YoshiMars (Lesse... He's either hallucinating or that's not really Roy... *coughs* Said too much.*), Keven C (Thank you muchly! We'd like for this to be as realistic as possible! Description is key...), Persian Kittie (Oh, I don't know about that... We both conspire together to bring you the best in torture and angst! Heh. That's where you're wrong. I'd happily kill Roy if it was fun!), LilFilipinoGurl (*fans her as well* Are you alright?! Everything will be fine, don't worry! Well, for the meantime...), Sherrilynn (That means a lot, coming from a fantastic author like you! But I've said that already, haven't I? It was meant to be shocking, but everything does have a twist!), Crockgirl13 (Ding, dong, the Roy is dead! O.o not really!), Jennie (Yes, we had to go all out... It's actually quite fun!), Moiras (Will you make us an award for best cliffhanger? Hehe, yes, Roy IS immune to fire! Very smart!), Jonathan (That's for us to know and you to.. find out in this chapter!), GSFailure ( Yes, absolutely! You know us too well!), Sinnatious ( I really enjoyed your review... I like it when people pick out the things they liked! Seeing as the characters are so fun to write, we have to make sure they're fun and interesting to read.), Curious Dream Weaver (*grin* Oh, ick, his head is half-way gone... ^^V We do the unexpected.), Dark Comet (*nods* Yup! You'd better run!), LiL PriNCeSs Me (My poor Roy-chan is hurt! You'll help me make him better?), pannybaby123 (Almost cried?! Wow... Well... I suppose it's good that we can bring emotions out from our readers, but I don't want to make you cry!), and MysticalWoodElf (*is shaken to the point of death* ARG! Just wait and see!!!).

          Marth's soul became encased in ice, which dropped and shattered.  His beloved partner, his heart and soul was dead and he felt his own human core dying as well. Marth felt his fingertips grow numb, then turn black as a thick layer of ice grew slowly up from them, engulfing his arms and then his torso.  His entire body was being covered in an armor of ice, protected by the razor sharp spikes that protruded from it.

          "Roy…" Marth whispered, seemingly unaware of the armor that had surrounded and encased his body.  The ice was safe…  It had protected him always…  It was the only thing that had never hurt him.

          But wait.

          Marth stopped, staring at Roy's charred and mutilated body.  He ripped the dead stone from around the neck of the corpse and held it in his ice-covered palm.  Roy wasn't dead.  Marth's mind began to awaken again, gradually thinking reason again.  He would have felt it the minute that his partner's life had been extinguished.  What the hell was going on?  
          The king stepped out of the tent, ignoring the astounded faces of his men as they stared dumbfounded at the ice retreating from their commander's body.  A few ice crystals remained in Marth's hair and eyelashes as he stuffed the dead gem into his belt-pouch.

          "I want all of you to go to any nearby villages and order the people to evacuate.  I don't want any living person within fifty miles of the border.  If they refuse, force them at sword-point and say it's an official order.  I don't care what you do but get them the hell out of here."

          The men bowed, hiding their perplexed expressions.   Few of the younger ones gulped, biting their lips and trying to hide their boyish fear.  Whatever King Marth had seen in that tent was enough for him to order a forced evacuation of the entire countryside…  They all rode off to carry out Marth's orders.  Marth watched after them for a moment, then sat on the ground, reaching deep within himself.  Cloud stood nearby, watching his master with concern.

          '_Roy, where are you?'_

          No answer.

          The mage of fire woke up, his head pounding painfully as it seemed as if he could concentrate on nothing else except his headache.  His vision was blurry, but he could discern a thicket of trees and many moving figures surrounding him.  He was pretty sure that he was wearing minimal clothing – light shorts and a loose sleeveless shirt – and that he was tied down.  

          Roy squinted at the figures and decided that they were male soldiers, except something was definitely wrong with them.

          Suddenly, Marth's voice exploded in his head and he let out a muffled scream of pain.  He could feel the young king's mixed emotions – worried, angry and cold.  He tried to focus on Marth's mind to answer, but the teen's head hurt ferociously.  Roy felt useless and became distracted when a figure walked up to him.  Even with his blurry vision, he could tell that the soldier was dead.

          Marth felt a flicker, a tiny trace of Roy's power from far, far away.  His hand reached into his belt-pouch and held the dead stone tightly so that he could feel every indention in the ice-glass surface.  Roy was alive.  _Roy was alive_.  He forced all his power into extending and strengthening his mindspeech.

          _'Roy, where are you?  What happened?'_

          There was Marth's voice again, louder than before.  It hurt so much, but felt so good to hear his partner's voice.

          '_Marth…' Roy thought helplessly as he was picked up by one of the un-dead soldiers.  He stared into the dull eyes of the man and recognized him as one of his own._

          "I command you to put me down," Roy mumbled, beginning to move a little.

          The soldier stared straight ahead and continued to walk on.  The others followed along slowly.  They seemed to be going in a specific direction.

          _'Marth, if you're in the camp and can hear me, you have to get out of there now.  All the dead men… will come back to life…  Get out of there as fast as you can.'_

          Marth stumbled to his feet, grabbing at Cloud's reins.  The stallion helped support Marth as best he could as Marth pulled himself into the saddle.

          '_I'm leaving right now, Roy.  Do you have any idea where you are?  What do you see around you?'_

          '_I … Ca...'  Roy's voice broke up and there was a long pause.  It was obvious that wherever he was, Roy was very far away.  '__Can't see anything…  Lots of trees…  Oak trees…  Too many soldiers…'_

          '_Oak trees…  Northern Altea or Jorn…' The king thought rapidly.  _'Roy, don't worry…  I won't let him have you.  Just stay alive_.'_

Marth dug his heels into Cloud's sides, causing the stallion to neigh loudly and jump forward.

          '_I'll… try…  Love you…' Roy thought, and then released his energy, slumping over with a sigh.  Now with the last reserves of his power gone (he'd used most of it to fight the undead warriors), all he could do right now was try to get as much rest as he could.  If only he knew where they were going…_

          Cloud seemed to sense his master's tension and grief and so did not protest as Marth galloped him hard over the terrain of eastern Altea.  Marth's eyes were so intensely focused that if one looked into them, they would feel the blue orbs boring into their soul.  Only one thing was on the king's mind right now.

          '_Rowen!'  He called.  '__ROWEN!'  _

          The weather mage answered almost immediately, accompanied by a slew of questions.  

          '_Marth, what's wrong?  What's happening?  Everyone says that you've told all the towns to evacuate to the capital.  Is this true?'_

          '_I want every town, village and city within fifty miles of the eastern Altea border evacuated.  And every corpse must be burned.'  Marth ordered harshly, trying to keep his voice steady.  '__I've seen them Rowen.  And Roy…  Roy's gone.'_

          '_Consider it done,' Rowen answered.  There was a pause – he was probably talking to Gwen or one of the other palace drones.  '_Marth, are you okay?  Gwen's worried about you and now after what you said…Are you on your way here_?'_

          '_Yes.  I'm coming home.  Tell Gwen not to worry too much…  I'll be all right…  And Rowen?  I don't want to be bothered for a few days after I come home aside from you and Gwen.  I'm very tired.'_

          When Marth arrived at the castle, the capital was overflowing with people.  Emergency accommodations had been set up for them, but it was obvious that they were in distress.  He could hear some cry out "King Marth!" in relief as he entered the castle gates.  They crowded around his horse so that Cloud snorted and pranced uneasily to avoid being crushed.  

          His small, blond servant came running out, a scared look in her eyes as she ducked in and out of the crowd, trying to avoid all the people and get to her king at the same time.

          "Sir Marth!"  She cried, with Rowen following behind at a slower pace.

          Marth nodded to them, keeping up the façade of strength for the public.  He waved them aside, subtly, and walked Cloud to the castle.

          It wasn't until they were in the safety and privacy of the royal stables that Marth allowed his fatigue to show through.  He practically fell out of the saddle, his entire body trembling.  It was a good several days of riding from the eastern Altean border to the capital and Marth had somehow managed to cover it in just two without killing himself or Cloud.  However, the stallion was covered in a thick, white lather and breathing heavily through his dilated nostrils.  Rowen unsaddled him and ordered a groom to get some warm mash and blankets for Cloud before turning to Marth.

          The king had collapsed into a pile of hay, not looking much better than his steed.  His body had grown thin, his eyes hollow and dull in a pale face.

          "Sir…" Gwen whispered, kneeling down beside Marth and offering him a cup of water while Rowen bent down and helped the king to sit up.

          "Marth, are you alright?  Talk to me, boy."  The mage commanded.

          Marth took the cup gratefully, drinking some and splashing the rest of it on his face.

          "I don't know if I'm alright or not."  Marth answered quietly.  He buried his face in Gwen's shoulder.  "Forgive me, Gwen.  Roy's gone and everything's wrong all at once…"

          "What do you mean by 'gone?'"  Rowen interjected, settling back on his heels.  "Is Roy dead?"

          Marth shook his head, raising it from Gwen's shoulder.

          "No, captured."  He fumbled for his belt-pouch and pulled out the dead fire-in-ice and handed it to Rowen.

          Rowen looked at the stone curiously.

          "That's odd…  According to this, Roy _should be dead.  Perhaps his magical powers are so repressed that it gives off the illusion that he has passed on…  Do you mind if I take a closer look at this inside?"_

          The servant girl moved to stand up, indicating that Marth needed to get inside.

          Marth hauled his tired carcass to his feet, following his friend and his servant back into the castle.

          "You can look at it, but don't take it apart or hurt it…  I don't think I could make another."  He mumbled.

          To his eternal gratitude, Gwen had thought ahead and prepared a cold bath for him and as he sank into the frigid water, he felt some of the stress and tension leave his body.  But the knot deep in his heart refused to go away or stop causing him pain.  It would remain until he knew that Roy was safe once again.  After he was clean and dry once more, Marth changed into a pair of soft breeches and fell into bed, asleep almost instantly.

          Roy woke up in a hard chair surrounded by the loud buzz of many people talking.  He lifted his head to find himself at a grand table, heavily laden with a majestic feast and lords with their ladies sitting all around.  The strangest thing was that _he_ was seated at the head of the table.

          "Where am I…?"  The teen whispered.  A lady to the right of him turned and looked at him with her dull eyes and painted face.

          "Have you decided to join us, General?"  

          "Welcome to Pharae, General."  Another said, speaking smoothly.  "Welcome home."

          Then everything faded away into black, but this time he was tied to the chair.  A black entity swirled around him like a thick mist, causing him to choke and cough.

          "Tell me all about your partner," a hissing voice whispered in his ear. "The Mage-King of Altea is very powerful, yes?"

          "Yes…" Roy whispered.

          "Tell me about his powers…"

          "Wouldn't you like to know?"

          A pain flashed in the pit of his stomach and Roy realized that this was an entirely different method of interrogation.  

          _To be continued…     _

Author's Notes:

Xan:  Let's all say it together:  "Poor Marth and Roy!"

Vallen: *repeats it too* Hopefully now all of you have a grasp on the situation… No more confusion? 


	5. Dream a Dream

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (R later on)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan:  Ack, sorry this one took so long.  I've just been reeeeeeeeeally busy, but here it is!  And I may start working on the next one today too 'cause I really like that one.  A lot of Marth in this one, so all you Marth fans should be happy.  And naturally a new twist!  Dum dum dum…

Vallen: *grins* And those of you who are Roy fans should be patient and wait for what's coming.

Thanks To:  rex16 (Just be patient! Good things come to those who wait.), Sake Girl Duelist (Hehe, Marth is going to get in a lot of trouble with Rowen for that.), Moonlitmonk (*blink* Say what? Well... Moral of the story is that you shouldn't throw bricks at people.), Ged (Um... Maybe if you paid attention to the story, you would know... I can't explain everything. Maybe if you asked a certain question about a certain part...), Shaggs2dope (Yes, we are two girls. They are *gay* because we want them to be. So there. ^^V); Slifer (Glad you understand! Don't worry, I like Roy better too. Hence, there will be Roy torture. Meh.), Nataku Mino (An awesome chapter? Thanks! Don't worry, they'll get back together. If there's a will, there's a way.); YoshiMars (wow, it took 4 chapters to begin everything? Is that a bad thing? Heh.), Persian Kittie (I never realized that there's mystery in this story... Excellent!), LilFilipinoGurl (*snorts* Yeah, Jorn is a very funny name... But thank you! It's so fun to write zombies! I've never played Resident Evil..), Pichu*Star (We aim to please! Making our readers crazy would be a very bad thing.. Bwahah, Roy is being interrogated! *cough* You were right. The Necromancer is behind this.), Sinnatious (Another fun, fun, fun review! I'm glad you liked the ending, 'cause it was my favorite part... Thank you thanks you!), Spryte Andoloni (5 in the morning? Ack! Get some sleep! But we are the masters of evil cliffhangers, so we've been told.), Syaix_Rafael (eeek! *runs away* No, don't kill us before we finish the fic!), chiby fairy (*throws confetti too* I have reason to believe that this is a very draining story. ^^;;), MintyDreams7 (Bwahaha, Roy is "home"... I wonder what they'll do to him.), Moiras (Don't worry, that's the last bad one for a while... ^^ I'm sure Xan was happy that you liked her Marth description), MysticalWoodElf (Confusion gone poof! But what are you talking about?! They deserve everything that they get! Bwahah.), RavenGhost (You're welcome! Now here's the next chapter!), Dark Comet (*cough* I just had to add that "minimal clothing"... We all love Roy with "minimal clothing" on.), Shea (This is all for the Torture Marth and Roy cause! Please give donations... ^^V); tikimoof (Yeee-hah! Go texans! I hate it when people spell y'all wrong, even though I don't say it.), Jennie (*grin* We have a little something for everyone.. The torture-lovers and the romantic-lovers..), Escuro de la Lus (*rocks out with Xan* We live to rock. But *gasp* what?! You hate reading about him getting tortured?! O.o Sorry about the next hundred pages, then.. ^^), bladegryphon (You're welcome! We can't leave you in the dark for too long, ne?); Kevin C (Well.. Marth only took a few minutes to notice... But I guess the Necromancer created a pretty good dummy-Roy. ^^ It all comes together!); Jonathan (Your review was so cute! I think you go in the category of romantic-fans. Thanks and we'll continue to work!); Crockgirl13 (*waves hand too* Wake up, its time to read!), sylvanon the wolf gurl (Yes, Roy was born in Pharae, according to his trophy description.); Curious Dream Weaver (Ah, it's great to see that both of them are alive and well.. Sort of. Thanks.. We try to write as best we can!); Rayestar Ikina (Oh yes, we love plot twists... Bwahah. We must keep the fic alive! Glad you got over it so fast.), and LiL PriNCeSs Me (Hey, he's my baby too! Sorry it's getting weird, but it has very dark themes... Now that the Necromancer has taken over.)

          Marth knew that he was dreaming when he saw himself as a young child sitting in his mother's lap beside a small fountain within a beautiful, peaceful garden.  It was serene and quiet and even though he knew full well that it wasn't real, he allowed himself to sink slowly into it, aware that he could do nothing to banish the illusion.

          '_After all,' he thought, somehow simultaneously within the child's body and looking at it from the outside.  '_It's no sin to dream_.'_

          And then the illusion changed.  He was no longer with his mother in the deceptive beauty of the garden, but instead with Roy.  He was watching his auburn-haired partner tend to Onyx, admiring the silky pearl-white coat.  Suddenly the foal's fur became dull, his flesh sunken in so that every bone of his small skeleton showed with horrifying clarity.  In seconds, the foal had become but the animated corpse of a horse.  Onyx whirled around, sinking his fangs – fangs?  Horses didn't have fangs – into Roy's arm.  Roy let out a yell and fought, but the horse would not let go.  Marth tried to move to help Roy, but he found that he was paralyzed, absolutely frozen in place.  Always frozen…  He watched as Roy hacked at Onyx with his sword until the horse's flesh was like ribbons of white silk and blood, but the zombie animal would not relent.  Finally the two of them fell to the ground.

          The young king stared in horror at the carnage, but could not go to Roy.  He was frozen – frozen like he always was.  He was useless.  Then Roy rose again, encased in a thin layer of ice.  He glowed momentarily, then the glow died, just like the fire-in-ice had.  Marth screamed, reaching for him, only to discover that he was burning.

          The Mage-King awoke with a gasp, his body covered in a cold sweat.  He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to forget the ghastly details of the dream.  

          '_Rowen?'  _

          He could feel the mage waking up and blinking though a sleepy haze.

          '_Yes Marth?  Are you alright?  I felt something, but I wasn't sure…  Were you having a dream?'_

          '_I did…  I had a gods-damned nightmare…' Marth shook his head.  '_Sorry for waking you up…  Did you find out anything more about the stone_?'_

          '_Not much, but it's got some sort of spell on it.  Not sure what kind of spell, but I can only guess that our enemy knew that it was a connection between you two.  It was only logical for him to tamper with it.'_

          '_It figures.  I'm beginning to think that it was a bad idea to create such an obviously powerfully magical talisman in the first place.'  He sighed. '__Rowen, can a person be stripped of their magical power completely, once the power has been discovered and nurtured?'_

          There was a very long pause and apprehension filled their mental link before Rowen finally responded,

          '_Yes.  But it is a very intricate, painful procedure which takes a great deal of power to perform.  It was done to my mother and to every other mage and magic-user who stood in the Necromancer's way all those years ago.  Needless to say, they all died after great suffering.  Why do you ask?'_

          '_Because I think that the Necromancer may do that to Roy and I'm worried.'  There was a pause. '_How are the refugees handling being in the city?  Will we be able to feed and house all of them?  I was concerned about that._'  Marth changed the subject.  _

          '_They keep on coming in by the day, so I'm sure that we'll run out of room fairly soon.  You might have to order some sort of temporary housing to be built.'  Rowen responded quickly to Marth's question. '_But Marth…  I wouldn't be too worried about Roy right now.  You need to get your country in order first…  What you said is not entirely impossible, but if your power is enough for the Necromancer to turn his head, don't you think that he'd need a bit more information?  And who better to ask than your lover?  Yes, he probably knows about that too._'_

          Marth ran a hand through his hair, nervous and on edge.  

          '_I know, but I can't not__ worry about Roy, but you're right.  The country is more important right now.  I'll order some housing and rations to be distributed.  There is plenty of food in the royal storehouses…  The palace can't possibly eat that much food and it will be enough to support them… for a while anyways.  Rowen, the Necromancer has reached Altea before and he's been defeated.  How?'_

          '_That's where you're wrong,' Rowen replied. '_Had he been defeated, he wouldn't be alive today – At least, that's what I think.  Perhaps he was weakened by another enemy or sealed up until magic reawakened in this land.  I'm going to try to save up my strength and make a connection with him.  I want to find out what he wants._'_

          '_Go back to bed first, old man.  You need the rest.'  Marth got out of his bed and grabbed his silver coronet to keep his blue tresses out of the way.  '_I'm going to deal with the most immediate problem first, which happens to be the refugees.  You try to contact the Necromancer, but ask me for help if you need it.  My mindspeech is stronger than yours anyways._'_

          '_I know…  But I've still got power, boy.  Don't underestimate me.'  The weather mage said, obviously tired. '_I'm going to get some sleep, but I can't help feeling that I should be doing something to help…'__

          '_You're helping.  Don't worry about it, Rowen.'  Marth severed the connection to let Rowen rest and went to find Gwen._

          The girl must have sensed that he was looking for her because she was found sitting in a corner in one of the halls, looking like she was taking a light nap.  She dedicated her life to Marth, so it was natural that she should sleep when he did.  Gwen looked up when she heard him coming.

          The weight on Marth's shoulders could not hide his fondness for the young woman.  He had formed an intense of affection for Gwen in the past few years, which only continued to grow.  He had freed her from Trave and then elevated her status from lowly servant to his own personal attendant to thank her and also to protect her from further mistreatment and harm, but she had risen to the occasion beautifully.  Marth had never met a more loyal or gentle person than she.

          "I'm beginning to think that you're the one with the magical powers," he said, crouching down beside her with a small smile.  "I feel guilty about running you ragged all the time Gwen, but you always come through.  Can you tell me what needs to be done now?"

          Gwen looked up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

          "There are a few letters from Jorn and Pharae that you need to answer, but other than the obvious, n-nothing has come up, Sir."  She answered.  "Your advisors would like to have a meeting with you as well…  They're starting to… get impatient."

          "Advisors, advisors…" Marth muttered, running a hand through his hair.  "I'll read the letters first and _then meet with them since they probably just want to fuss at me anyways.  I would also like to go into the city and see how the people are doing for myself if I have time."_

          The girl nodded, then did not say anything for a long time as she stood up and brushed herself off.

          "Is Sir Roy coming back?  I don't know what's going on now, but it is bad…  You're acting strange and I… don't want you to be sad."

          Gwen's innocent question caused Marth to lean against the wall, staring off into space a little.  He wasn't angry with the girl for asking – indeed, she had a right to know.

          "He's not dead, I know that much for certain.  He's been captured by the enemy and I have no idea what's happening to him or where he is.  And I can't go to him because I'm a king and I have to stay and do what's best for my country and my people.  I don't have a choice, so I'm torn, Gwen."

          Gwen looked down at the marble floor and clasped her hands together tightly, her slim fingers trembling.

          "I don't know what to do…  I can't help you, Sir Roy or Sir Rowen.  You should make me do something – Give me orders…"

          "Gwen, you help me more than anybody else.  Just keep doing exactly as you have been."  Marth wrapped an arm around her shoulders briefly. "Where are the letters?"

          She looked surprised to be embraced by the king, but cheered up a bit.

          "In your study…  Come with me, alright?"  The girl led Marth all the way to his study and showed him where the letters were on his desk.

          The first one was from Pharae and was written in Roy's distinct hand:

          _To Whom It May Concern,_

_                   We have noticed suspicious activity going on along the Pharae/Altean border and would like to know what is happening specifically from the King of Altea.  Our general is conversing with your general, but the situation has not changed.  We, as a country, are concerned about this new development and would like to ensure peace and safety between our lands._

_                                                                                                                   The High King of Pharae_

          The next, from Jorn:

          _Hello Marth,_

_                   This is the first time I have contacted you, and yet I have caused you so much pain already.  I give you a simple ultimatum:  Meet with me and surrender your powers unto me or else I will kill your lover and destroy Altea.  I wait eagerly for your response – send it to the Principality of Pharae_.

          The letter was unsigned.

          Marth read the letters with a grim expression on his pale face, quiet and contemplating.  

          "Gwen, you are dismissed for the time being."  He said softly, but not unkindly.  He waited until the girl had left before locking the door and settling into his chair, picking up the letter from the 'King of Pharae' written in Roy's script.  Marth touched the familiar letters, narrowing his cobalt blue eyes.

          '_What are they doing to you, Roy?'  He thought, wishing that he could connect to Roy's mind through the letter.  He didn't trust this at all – why would Roy write him a letter addressed from the King of Pharae?  Especially when Roy was _supposedly_ dead.  It made no sense, but…_

          Marth got a clean sheet of parchment and a feather quill.  He wrote four words:

          _Where is my general?_

          Marth put it aside and picked up the other letter, the unsigned one.  This one made him shiver, him the Ice Mage.  He didn't want to touch it.

          "He wants me.  I don't know why, but he wants my power."  He closed his eyes momentarily, knowing that he couldn't let Rowen know what he was about to do.  The mage would try to stop him and he would not be stopped.  He closed his mind to Rowan's mental gaze and crept out of the castle, avoiding everyone.  

          Marth rode east, seated on a tall, rangy chestnut gelding.  Cloud was tied to the saddle, trotting behind them.  He had intended to leave his grey stallion behind, thinking that Cloud deserved the rest after such a harrowing ride only a few days ago, but the horse had made such a fuss that Marth had been forced to bring him along so that his neighing wouldn't give him away.

          When he had gotten far enough away from the castle, Marth stopped, dismounted and untied Cloud.  He took a letter out of his pocket and tucked it into the chestnut's saddle blanket.  It was addressed to Rowen and explained what he was doing, along with an apology.  He slapped the gelding's rump and watched as the horse galloped back towards the castle.  He hoped that Rowen and Gwen wouldn't worry too much.

          '_Please forgive me if I don't come back alive…  I'm just trying to do what's right.'  He thought, the words echoing in his head.  He had said these words before, years ago when he was about to storm his own castle to overthrow Gaimen.  _

          "I hope this isn't our last ride, boy."  He said to his faithful steed.  Cloud nickered and began off at a canter.

          The ride to the east was fairly uneventful for Marth and Cloud.  The terrain was bare, aside from the occasional plume of black smoke rising from a demolished village on the horizon.  Marth was more confident than ever that his decision to evacuate all the border towns had been the right one.  

          Cloud reared abruptly in the middle of the field they were riding through, jarring Marth.  The horse's ears were perked and his nostrils were flared and he was looking around.

          "What is it?"  Marth asked, unsheathing Falcion warily.

          There was a high keening sound from somewhere in the brush around them and Cloud pranced anxiously.  Marth felt the temperature drop suddenly, as it always did when he was on edge.

          The arrow came out of nowhere, piercing Marth's upper left arm.  A few zombies popped up, attacking Marth and Cloud on some signal.  Marth hacked at them with his sword whenever they approached, trying to ignore the stench and their cadaverous appearance.

          "Stop it!"  He shouted, making Cloud back away. "I've come to surrender to your master!"

          The living dead soldiers pulled back, eyeing Marth through decaying sockets.  They didn't understand much of the speech of the living now, but had obviously heeded Marth's words.  The king dismounted and placed Falcion on the ground between them as a sign that he was willing to be peaceful.

          "I come willingly."

          One of the zombies picked Falcion up, daring Marth to make a move to reclaim it.  The king did not.  Satisfied, they gestured for him to follow.  He reached for Cloud's reins, but they indicated sharply that the horse was to stay.  Regretfully, Marth slapped Cloud's rump and the stallion slowly walked away, glancing back at Marth often.  The soldiers made a guttural growl and began to walk, leading Marth into Pharae.

To be continued…

Xan:  Sorry Roy wasn't in this chapter much (okay, at all) but the next one is all about Marth and Roy, so just be patient okay?  Hope ya liked!  (^^ My birthday is next week… Yay for Xan!)

Vallen: *blink* It is? Oh, right! ^^;; Well anyways, I hope this is a good gift to the start of a new week… Only two weeks till Thanksgiving!


	6. State of Mind

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (R later on)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Thanks to all of you who wished Xan a happy birthday! *hug*

Xan:  Yeah yeah, I know a lot of you didn't like the last chapter horribly much so I hope you'll like this one better.  Still not much action (just wait a bit for that), but more interesting developments.  PLUS we get to see Roy again!  ^^

Vallen: Yes… Jeez, this is for all the people who asked for Roy. Just calm down and hold your horses!

Thanks To:  rex16 (Of COURSE it's leading up to something- It would be pointless if it didn't.), Slifer (Roy is here! One question: Is your sn from Yu gi oh? If so, you rock!), PikaPower (Wow, what a feat! I must say that it is addicting… If you like it, you can't stop reading! At least, that's what I've heard… ^^ Glad you found us.), LilFilipinoGurl (Awesome! One person who loved the Marth parts…), LiL PriNCeSs Me (Bwahaha, we make everyone shiver with antici…… pation. ß Rocky horror picture show joke), Pichu*Star (Yeah, zombies are a definite EW, but where Marth and Roy are concerned, they're yummy. We'll get back to you on that torture thing….), YoshiMars (We've been busy too! We're cooking up some really really bad stuffs… ^^V), Dark Comet (You liked the letters? Yay! The N-mancer is quite polite, actually.), Ged (Thanks for the compliment. A lot of people are "freaked out" too, so don't dwell on that too long.), Sinnatious (*blushblushblush* Your welcome anyway. You pointed out all the important things in the chapter, which made me very happy. You're paying very close attention to everything!), Nataku (Well… There's going to be a zombie war here pretty soon, so just wait it out. As far as the High Seas goes… Um, yes it is on pause…), Rayestar Ikina (I wrote you an e-mail, but you never replied… *disappointed*), Spryte Andolini (Meh-heh. So does that mean that we 0wn you too? :3), bladegryphon ( Yeah, that was a long time in between chapters… Sorry 'bout that! We'll try to not let it happen again!), Jennie ( Bloody and battered is your guess? Hm… Just look and see. *gives Roy a huge hug* There we go. Now he's off to be tortured some more.), Kevin C (We are the masters of twists… I thought you had realized that by now! ^^V And we love our job.), MysticalWoodElf ( Here, here! Don't be confused any more! Read and be cured!), Curious Dream Weaver (Yes, another person who liked the letters! Thanks for the great compliments- They mean a lot.), MinyDreams7 (Marth must go rushing off to save his general and get into trouble- It just works out that way. According to us…), Moiras (Sorry, if we didn't have suspense, the chapters would be 20 pages long at least! Gah!), chibi fairy (Yes, yes… You've got it now! *cheers for reader figuring things out*), pannybaby123 (Here we are! This is what happened… Now go and read it… Roy is quite… different now.), tikimoof (That's okay! Oh, and the letter from "Jorn" was the Necromancer… *cough*), Persian Kittie (Altea is going to be… *cough* Hm… In a lot of trouble.) and roxi (I know, isn't he adorable? He's my cute little Roy-chan…).

          "King Marth is coming to us, Roy.  Don't you want to look nice for his arrival?"  The voice Roy had come to obey said sharply.

          Roy's eyes brightened from their murky Prussian color at that name, but he was instantly reprimanded with a shock of pain.

          "No, you are _not_ happy to see him.  Go dress yourself."

          The auburn-haired teen nodded and stood up from the grand banquet table he was seated at.  He went to his chambers and dressed in his finest clothing: black breeches, a black tunic with a red shirt underneath and a black cape with a dark blue lining.  With a glance towards the decorated shackles around his wrists, he was almost reminded of a time when he had been with the King of Altea, living with him happily.  But no, that life had been forgotten and replaced by a gold circlet upon his head.

          Now his life was in Pharae, serving his Lord and Master faithfully and without question.  He could remember nothing of doing anything else.

          Roy (he wasn't even sure that was his name anymore – The master called him that, so he had automatically assumed it) went to the sprawling marble steps of the front of the castle.  He saw the King of Altea approach, led by a group of patrolling soldiers.  The general could sense that the king had been wounded, so he would probably have to heal him later.  He stood on the steps and waited for them to come closer, staring blankly.

          Marth saw Roy before he sensed him and _that_ disturbed him more than anything about the general's appearance.  Normally, he should have been able to feel Roy's unique magical and mental signature from miles away.  But he had felt nothing.  It was as if Roy was no longer there.

          Marth stopped abruptly in his tracks as razor sharp icicle spikes grew from his shoulders and arms.  A thick sheet of ice spread out from his feet, covering the ground and engulfing the zombie-warriors lightening fast.  It even crept up the steps, leaving a circle around Roy.

          '_What have you done to him?!'  Marth poured so much force into his mindspeech that it would have deafened any normal human.  '_Answer me, Necromancer!  I know you can hear me – I can sense your presence_!'_

          Roy glanced up at Marth and his now icy surroundings with mild curiosity, his dull eyes boring into the king's.

          "Welcome, King Marth of Altea.  We will pardon your rude entrance, but see to it that you do not display such impertinence in our company again.  Come with me please," the auburn-haired general said politely, gesturing Marth into the castle.  His facial expression, or lack thereof, had not changed.

          The spikes retreated, but the ice on the ground and encasing the two zombies did not.  Marth's eyes filled with a new understanding as he removed Falcion from one of their brittle hands and once again buckled it around his waist.  He then turned to Roy and bowed politely, as one ruler does to another.

          "Forgive my previous behavior.  I come as a monarch to speak to your master in regards to the note which I received.  My temper has been worn short by recent events – I'm sure you understand."  He straightened and stepped to follow Roy. "Your welcome is appreciated."

          Roy turned and began to walk up the steps,

          "I understand that you would probably have liked to speak with the King, but he has been… detained.  You'll have to settle for me instead, someone who is much more _alive – well, more or less."_

          He led Marth down a series of confusing, intricate hallways and corridors, knowing them all by heart.  At the end of the maze, Roy stopped at one door, opening it with a key.  He went in.

          It had a bed, a closet and was modestly decorated.  The teen went to the closet and got out some clean clothes, then motioned to a chair.

          "Sit here while I heal your arm.  Looks like the guards got you – there's a large bloodstain on your shirt."

          Marth sat in the chair that "Roy" had indicated and removed his shirt.  The wound was shallow, but fairly serious.  Marth had numbed it so that he would not be hindered by the pain, but in turn, he had lost partial control of that arm, but luckily no one seemed to have noticed.  He held his arm out so "Roy" could heal it.  He was silent.  What was there to say?

          Roy held the arm in his hands and concentrated on his power.  As fiery mist surrounded the wound, Roy's face began to bead with sweat, his brow furrowed.  It wasn't so easy to heal anymore.

          Once the wound had healed up, he pulled away abruptly with a cry of pain.  Trembling, he reached up to wipe his face and straighten himself up as he turned away.  No, he couldn't be weak.

          "E-Excuse me for a moment…" Roy said hoarsely, adjusting the circlet upon his head.  He remembered when he had healed ten people at a time, so why was it so hard now?

          "Now…  You wished to speak with someone about a letter?"

          Marth touched the golden circlet on his lover's head, focusing his gaze on Roy's blue eyes, so familiar and yet so different.

          "That circlet is new.  It suits you, Roy.  Where did it come from?"

          The teen took a sudden step backwards, his miscolored eyes narrowed at Marth.  It was quite clear that he was confused and angered by the King's simple touch. 

          "Who are you to touch me in that manner?"  He asked, clenching his jaw tightly. "And small talk is not on our agenda, Your Highness."

          "Then what is on the agenda, Roy?"  Marth gazed at Roy calmly, unsurprised by the edgy reaction.  He was systematically testing his former general for weaknesses in the barrier, trying to figure out exactly what the Necromancer had done to his mind.

          "I reiterate: You wanted to talk about the letter, correct?  I'm sure you know what's going on here, unless you are as dense as I expected.  You came here to surrender, right?"

          "No."  Marth tossed his hair, eying the clean clothes that Roy still held.  "Are those intended for me?"

          Roy's face darkened.  He glared intently at the King of Altea, stepping back and placing the clothes on the bed.  He walked stiffly over to the door, opened it, and stood in the doorway.

          "Face it, your power is not your own anymore while you are in this castle.  If you had plans to escape, I strongly suggest that you rethink them.  You may call for me when you're ready to negotiate your surrender, but in the meantime, I have a war to wage."

          "I don't wish to negotiate my terms with you, little pawn."  Marth raised a brow at Roy, obviously amused by the notion that he would discuss affairs of state with a commonborn.  "My business is with he to whom I would be surrendering.  So tell me when he is ready to speak with me."  Marth turned, giving Roy and obvious dismissal.  

          Roy's face changed completely and he turned away with a hiss.  A voice completely unlike his own came from his mouth, more deep, dark, and sinister.  

          "Arrogant little thing."  The mind-controlled teen gave Marth one last snarl before he left, slamming the door and locking it.

          Marth changed into the clean clothes, keeping his face carefully neutral.  The icy king was a great actor.  If he could convince his enemies that he felt nothing whatsoever towards Roy, even as his heart was full of pain at the sight of his altered lover, then there was still hope.  His hand reached for the gem around his neck unconsciously, then stopped.  No, that would give him away.  He sat on his bed and slipped into a mindspeaking trance.

          '_Rowen.'_

          '_Where have you been?!  You have no idea how worried I was!  I looked all over for you…  I thought you had taken this Roy thing a bit too hard and… Where are you?!'  The weather-mage's mind voice exploded into a thousand questions.  Worry and apprehension flooded, unbridled and furious, into Marth's head._

          Marth allowed Rowen's barrage to blast him for a moment before answering.  He knew that he had played a cruel trick on Rowen and Gwen, not to mention abandoning his duties as king, but it was what he had to do.

          '_Rowen, calm down.  My mother has been dead for a long time and I don't need another.  I'm sorry I worried you – I hope you and Gwen can forgive me.'  He paused and then decided to tell his mentor the truth.  '_I'm in Pharae._'_

          '_No…' Rowen stumbled with his words, something that he did not do often. '_Marth, you didn't…  Oh no…  It's suicide_!"_

          The mage spoke in such a finalized tone that it seemed as if he had given up.  He sounded so… useless.

          '_Rowen!'  Marth said sharply, giving the mage a mental smack. '__I need you to pull together!  Listen to me; the Necromancer has Roy under his power – it's based in this circlet that he wears.  I need you to find out how to counter or block that magic, if there is a way.'_

          There was a long pause from Rowen's end.

          '_Mind control…  And I don't doubt that it's leeching Roy's power as well.  You could probably destroy the item, but if it's connected to Roy's magic, you might not want to risk it.  Or…' Rowen sounded uncomfortable.  '_Are you sure that it's really Roy in there?  The Necromancer _could__ be using his body, as a shell, as something to confuse you with.'_

          The king clenched his fists and felt his nails make small crescent wounds in his palms.  Blood dripped onto the bed.

          '_What would he do with Roy's mind then?'_

          '_Throw it to the underworld or simply keep it somewhere else.  I doubt Roy would be easily subjected to mind control, if I know him, so…  I…  I don't know what to tell you, Marth.  Is there any way you could talk with the Necromancer directly, face to face, before they decide to kill you?'_

          '_Perhaps, but not now…  Tomorrow.'  The Mage-King forced himself to relax. '__The Necromancer has made Roy his__ High General and they're going to attack the country soon.  How soon can our army rally?'_

          '_Soon, but…  They're already here.  They're laying siege upon the capital.  I've tried creating some weather obstacles, but the armies are already dead.  Nothing can stop them – only slow them down.  I remember you saying that fire can destroy them, so we've been experimenting with that.  They haven't actually attacked yet, but…  I guess we're both bearers of bad news.'_

          '_We need more mages…' Marth thought hopelessly.  '_K___eep doing what you can.  I want you to not_ use your powers for the next few days and build them up.  I have a plan.  Tell the people that I'm negotiating with him.  I'll contact you later.'__

          Marth severed the connection between his master and himself and stood, pacing a bit.  Maybe he _could help his country even from this distance.  As long as he remained strong, there was still hope for the future. He broke the lock on the door with Falcion (ever since Gaimen's death, he had refused to stay in a room that he could not exit from at will) and curled up on the bed, falling into a deep sleep._

          "He is not what I expected him to be, Lord," Roy said dully, seating himself in a chair quietly.  He was not allowed to be down here often – these were the Master's chambers.

          "Quite boring on the outside, right?  It's the inside that the most interesting."  The voice answered.

          A figure walked up from the darkness and Roy stood hurriedly with a deep bow.

          "Forgive me, I did not know that I would be in your presence…" The general apologized profusely.

          The figure in the dark green cloak (almost black) nodded, keeping the top half of his face covered.  A shock of blond hair was visible, framing what was shown of his face.  The Necromancer waved a hand.

          "No matter.  You may sit."  There was a pause.  "So he strongly wishes to see me?"

          "Yes…  The King of Altea dismissed me in a way that was rude and not-so-rude.  It was frustrating."  Roy replied.  "May I leave to go join the army in Altea?  I have no desire to stay here any longer."

          "Just wait a little more."

          "But why?  What is your purpose?"  Roy asked.

          "Hush.  You'll see," the Necromancer replied, silencing his pawn.  "When he wakes, tell him that I'll meet with him."

          Roy walked off, something in the back of his mind complaining about having to do such menial tasks.

To be continued…

Xan:  I like the Necromancer, he's a fun guy to write.  I also like the way Marth and Roy's personalities bounce off each other in this chapter…  Makes for fun conflict.  *grin*  I also liked how Rowen's trying to be Marth's "mom."  That amused me.  I'll try to get the next one out quicker you guys!

Vallen: Uh-huh, I like the Necromancer too… Bwahaha, Roy's a zombie...


	7. Can You See Me Now?

Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (R later on)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan:  *bows* I'm REALLY sorry this took a month and a half to get out, but Vallen and I were having some shit to get through and I didn't feel like typing it up, so… sorry again!  Anyways, more fun Marth and Roy and Necromancer interaction, whee!  Btw, Vallen starts the thankyous, then I finish them after Dark Comet, so just fyi!

Vallen: Yes, we are very very very sorry for making you wait that long, oh ye faithful readers! I'm hoping this is enough of a Christmas present to you.

Thanks to: Saikyo_Kirei262 (Oooh, such a high compliment... I don't like chocolate myself, but Xan does. I think you're crazy for reading FNOK 9 hours straight, but you are loved! 3 Thanks for reading!), rex16 (Glad you think so. The N-mancer is a very bad dude.), Evui (^_^V You guessed it!), Chibi Raven ( Well, thank you! We've been writing together for a very long time, but we always want to improve ourselves), MintyDreams7 (Yes, some chapters can have lots of emotion and sometimes make people cry... ^^;;), Nataku (Yay! Well, this story is... Well, it starts out a lot faster than the first one did and we have to pack as much STUFF in it as we can), Sinnatious (*snickers* Everything with Marth is cool... He's not HOT-headed like Roy. Tee-hee. Don't worry, we'll get back to our masterpiece... You're one of our favorite reviewers!), you know who (Hey, guess what? We don't care.), Crockgirl13 (*weeps* I'm sorry!! This story is very very sad!), Dark Comet (Rowen has become more than just their mentor, I think.. He's wonderful.), PikaPower (Xan-Vallen – the next most addictive thing after speed!  ^^;; no not really.  That would be bad.  Oh and compliment Val-chan on the website! All hers!), Sword Master Jeff (Yes, I'm very proud of the fire-in-ice tidbit, but it wouldn't have gone anywhere if Vallen hadn't liked it too, so… hahaha!  The idea of Marth and Roy yelling attacks a la Ronin Warriors makes me laugh.  But they're both too serious to do something silly like that. ^^), Lil PriNCeSs Me (Don't worry about it!  As long as you read stuff eventually, we're not picky!), pannybaby123 (I adore Marth and Rowan's "chemistry" in this chapter…  Rowan kind of is Marth's "mother hen" and I like playing off that relationship.  That and zombie-Roy is fun too.  I think Vallen had TOO much fun w/ that), tikimoof (Like I said, Zombie-Roy is too fun for Val-chan!  If you're in a hyper mood, ANYTHING is funny, trust me.  So I can see why the chapter could be funny!), chibi fairy (Yeeeeeeeeees, we LOVE torturing our pretty boys!  *cough*  As if you couldn't guess from FNOK and FNOK2…), Kevin C (One thing to know about Marth is that he ALWAYS has plan.  He's that kind of guy…  Methodical.  We really love to keep you guys guessing as to what we're doing AND we really DO try to keep it "plausible," even though it's a pure fantasy fic.  Glad to hear that you think we're doing a good job!), Spryte Andolini (No seriously tell us what you think and your ideas!  We love hearing about them!  *eyes the glass*  Whoa…), MysticalWoodElf (The Necromancer IS fun!  We like having fun with our baddies, so they're always going to be deliciously evil!), Curious Dream Weaver (It IS dandy!  I luv it!  *feels delightfully evil*  Whee, they like our language and imagery!  *coughs*  Sorry, I'm suddenly hyper!  ^^;;), Jonathan (Aww… as cute as that mental image IS, we can't do that 'cause that's a cliché!  And we can't do clichés!  Thanks for reviewing and we're glad you like it!), Moiras (Mmm… we Luv their characters!  And YES, Necromancer is an AWESOME word!  Guess why we decided to use it? ^^), bladegryphon (Wahahaha!  *nervous laugher*  Gaimen and the Necromancer?  What ever gave you THAT idea?  That means that Marth and the Necromancer would be related, doesn't it?  *gasp!*), Persian Kittie (Hahaha… we can only hope they're screwed… it would be sad if they're virgins after all this time… ^^;; Okay, enough of the perversion, Xan… Down girl…), Rayestar Ikina (*blinks and looks at Vallen*  An email sent to me, what?  *looks at her*  We'll sort this out!  And no, the Xan-Vallen email is an account that is periodically checked by both of us, but Vallen checks it more.), Jennie (We luv surprises!  Can you tell? ^^), Pichu*Star (Yes, he IS very fun to write!  Evil people are the best!  Well, that and angst-ridden bishies!  AIGH!  *snatches the chibi-marth and takes him away*  He's miiiiiiine… my preciiiiiiiiiiiiiious…  ^^;; no not really.  Gollum scares the hell out of me [blame my dad], but THANKS!  ^^;; the sad thing is, now it's more like a Christmas present!), Demon Cat Fury (Wah!  You switched names on us!  Heh, but it's okay, we still know who you are!  ^___^  aw, are we getting predictable?  We'll just have to throw more curves your way!  Sorry if the zombies are annoying, but they're kind of around the whole fic- sorry!)

          Many years of near-escapes had made Marth a man who slept lightly and kept his ears sharp at all times.  Roy was outside his door and a few steps down the hall when Marth picked up on his mental signal and woke.  He sat on the bed, Falcion resting across his lap, waiting patiently.  The general stopped and stood right outside the door, opening it a little.

          "He will see you now."  Roy said loudly.  His voice dropped to a low mutter as he commented on how much he sounded like some sort of brainless personal servant.  "I suggest you get up now because I am the only one who knows the way through this maze of halls to his rooms."  

          Marth stood and inclined his head slightly towards Roy.

          "Thank you, Roy.  How's the war going?"  Marth kept his tone casual, as if he were merely commenting upon the passing weather.  

          Roy's strangely colored eyes glittered for a moment.

          "Miserably," he stated. "For you, of course.  Right this way, please."

          The teen was different in body as well as mind as a result of the Necromancer's enchantments.  He seemed weaker, with less strength and life than ever before, his skin a very pale white and stretched thin over his face.  He was worse for wear, as if the effects of the mind control were finally taking their toll upon him.  

          "Now…  Hand me your sword.  It won't do you any good to attack him, but I'd like to have it in the meantime.  I'll give it back."

          Marth drew Falcion and pointed it at Roy's head, the top of the blade touching the golden circlet that the younger man always wore.  

          "You claimed that you would never wear another collar and yet you're wearing one now."  Marth turned the sword over to him and walked to the door, placing his hand on the handle.  "Falcion is a weapon with powerful magic of its own.  I would not recommend tampering with it.  Although if it would do me no good to attack him, is there really any point in taking it from me?"  He opened the door and stepped inside, leaving Falcion to Roy and Roy to his own emotions.

          "You should consider yourself lucky.  Usually, I'm too busy to see anyone, but you're the exception, King Marth.  What do you think of my work?  Did I do a good job of screwing up your life?"  The Necromancer's voice floated through the darkened room like acid in the air.  There was a large table visible with a lone figure sitting at the head of it.  "You've done your best to hide it under that shell of yours, but I _know_."

          "If you know my past at all, you know that I've been through much worse than this, Necromancer."  Marth surveyed the figure coldly.  "What do you want from me?"

          "Oh, the very least you could do is flatter me before I assimilate your powers.  _That's_ the only thing I want from you, Marth – your magic.  Taking your love's magic was quite refreshing and obviously part of my grand plan, seeing as you now have no effective way of destroying my soldiers, but you are much more powerful."  The voice was lazy, indolent… reminiscent of another enemy who had fairly _oozed_ arrogant confidence.

          "What do you intend to use my power for if I give it to you?"  Marth asked, trying to feel the Necromancer out.  "Destroy me, my country and my people?  If so, then tell me why in the hell would I hand them over to you willingly?"

          Agitation coursed like a pumping vein throughout the room,

          "Do you have an alternative?  You're in the lion's den now, Marth.  Did you actually come here with a plan, or were you driven purely by the letters you received?  You are beginning to irritate me, young king.  I didn't expect you to come willingly, but…" There was a brilliant spark of power, which seized the King of Altea by the neck in a vice-like grip.  "I would like an answer."

          Marth squeezed his eyes closed, forcing himself not to choke or panic.  A dozen huge icicles, just as large and sharp as any sword, appeared abruptly in the air and hurtled themselves at Marth's dark-shrouded assailant.  The Necromancer didn't dodge quite fast enough and Marth heard at least one of the icicles stab him, but didn't know how badly.  The choking hold on his throat was released abruptly and Marth jumped back, alert and ready for the Necromancer's retaliation.  

          "_There is your answer, Necromancer!"  He spat._

          The man in black yanked the sharp projectile out of his shoulder with a small grunt.

          "You wish to fight me?  How… sad."

          Suddenly, the room brightened and the Dark Mage rose from his seat.  He raised his hands and lifted the green-black hood of his cloak away from his face.  The Necromancers' countenance was fair and youthful – Marth would even dare to say beautiful.  Light blue-purple eyes shone with malice and determination, his face perfectly framed with beautiful golden locks.  The man was by no means tall, but stood there, confident in his formidable power – a master of darkness in the height of his powers.

          Marth was all-too-aware of his underdog status, but he refused to allow it to infect his mind with pessimistic thoughts.  If he was going to be killed, he would damn well die fighting.

          '_Rowen!'  He called to his mentor, wanting Rowen to help him fight this enemy.  But the Dark Mage laughed bitterly and snapped his fingers, causing a sharp, intense pain to strike Marth's mind and cut off his powers of mindspeech.  Marth was thrown to his knees, gripping his head in agony._

          "That's enough of that, I believe.  I've listened in on your little conversations with your weak mentor before, but I won't have that going on any longer.  You are in _my castle and under __my power now, Marth, so you will do what I say, when I say.  You can't go crying to Rowen Wyndburne anymore."  He taunted Marth, his voice silky and acrid._

          "I'm not going to let you win," Marth growled. "If you want to control me, you'll have to kill me."

          He formed another icicle blade and lunged at the Necromancer, the strange sword in his hand blazing the exact shade of blue as his eyes were.  He swept it down upon his foe, aiming for the smooth, pale throat.

          The Necromancer looked at the oncoming killing edge calmly, not making a move as Marth came at him.  

          "You wouldn't want everyone in Altea, Pharae and Jorn to die right along with me, would you?"  He asked smoothly.

          The King of Altea turned the blade away at the last second and fell back, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.

          "No."  He glared at the beautiful mage.  "May I be excused for now?  I wish to return to my room."  

          As the Necromancer turned away, Marth noticed that the tips of his ears were pointed, like those of the Elven folk.

          "You have three more hours to contemplate your decision, Marth.  But then, your powers are mine.  I did not spend over fifty years sealed away to fail now," he told Marth, waving a hand to dismiss him.  "I'll have Roy escort you.  Leave now."

          Marth turned and did leave, dissipating the ice as he did so.  He waited outside the door for Roy to appear and lead him once again.  His face was blank and his eyes empty of everything except purpose.  There was nothing for him to contemplate.  He had come to this castle for one reason and one reason only – to reclaim Roy from that son of a bitch in the other room.  Nothing would stop him from completing this mission and _nothing_ would make him submit to the Dark Mage's power.

The only problem was that Roy didn't remember who he was, or who Marth was either.  Marth knew that he _had to make Roy remember, or else all was lost._

          '_I cannot win this war without you, Roy,' he thought.  '__The army will not follow me as they would him and he is the only other mage left besides me and Rowen.'_

          "Did you think about what I said about your collar?"  Marth asked as Roy approached.

          The teen looked irritated, to say the least.  He walked up to Marth, and then turned around, beckoning for him to follow.  They were soon back outside of Marth's room.

          "I don't know what you're talking about."  Roy growled, opening the door to Marth's pseudo-prison and going inside.  He placed Falcion on the bed, then studied Marth's eyes intently.  It was unclear whether he was trying to remember something, or if he was just plain angry.

          Marth looked right back into his former lovers' eyes.  

          "What do you see, Roy?  Are you being a bad Pet and not remembering who I am?"  Marth perfectly imitated Trave's cold, drawling snarl, wondering if it would break through to Roy.  It wasn't a pleasant memory, and certainly not the one Marth wanted Roy to remember first, but it may just be strong enough to force him to remember his past.

          Roy froze and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, a feeling of déjà vu enveloping his senses.  He shivered and took a step back, his mis-colored eyes wide.

          "No!  I'm a _good_ Pet, I promise!"  He heard himself say, pleading.  A deep, unknown pain struck his head and he fell to his knees, looking up at Marth in bewilderment.  "Who _are_ you?!"

          The King of Altea shoved Roy roughly against the wall, pinning him there.

          "You _are being a bad Pet – you __don't remember me.  Who am I Roy?"  He still spoke with Trave's slimy tongue, mentally begging Roy to remember something… _anything_._

          Roy grasped Marth's hands tightly, digging his nails into them in an effort to force him off.

          "Get off of me!  I swear I don't know who you are!"  He let out a yell of pain as the circlet around his head started to burn painfully.  He could feel it trying to get him back under control.  The teen reached up with one hand to try to remove it from his head, but found he could not.

          Marth didn't let go of Roy, refusing to give up.  He _would_ free Roy, even if it mean turning into his enemy to stay his friend.

          "If you don't remember, I'll just have to punish you and your little friend Marth," he hissed, grabbing the circlet.  Evil power slammed into him, electrifying his senses.  It hurt, but he did not let go until he had wrenched it off Roy's head and flung it as far away as he could.  It hit the wall with a sharp _clang_ and fell to the floor, harmless.

          The auburn-haired teen blacked out for a moment, but opened his eyes again to find himself sitting in a crumpled position against the wall.  He stared blankly up with a dazed expression at the man leaning over him.

          "You're not Trave…" He stammered.  "_Who are you?  Why do you sound so familiar?"_

          "My name is Marth."  The young man nearly collapsed on top of Roy, but caught himself on the wall.  "You know the way out of his miserable castle.  You're going to get us out, understand?  
  


To Be Continued…

Xan:  The Necromancer is sooo pretty…  Yum.  ^^;; makes me wanna write fanfiction of my own fanfics.  Has anybody else ever wanted to do that?  *laughs*  Hey, I challenge all you to write FNOK fanfiction!  Seriously, I wanna see what you'd do.

Vallen: ^^;;; She's so weird. And ah, yes... The Necromancer resembles/is based off another SSBM character, appearance-wise. Kudos to you if you know which one.


	8. I Know You Love Me

Warning: This chapter contains some semi-mature content. I hope you know what that means. Be mature. Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn 

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13 (R later on)

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Vallen: Erm… I won't even try to apologize for how long it's been since we've updated… We've just had a lot of problems lately and hopefully we're back on track.

Xan: (Not available).

**Announcement:** The Necromancer is NOT Link. No, no, and **no**.

Thanks to (sorry if we forgot anyone):

I mAy Be InSaNe (Well, looks-wise he is based off Adult Link, yes. But the characters are not the same!), Nataku (Hm... Well, if I had to place a bet on whether Roy got out of the N-mancer's spell... I would say yes. You have so many things you want to know!), BlakJak (^__^ Wow, that's so cool that you get so worked up about this! Maybe that's a sign that we're doing something right. But also, there aren't any other mages because they were all wiped out when the N-mancer was in power decades ago.), MintyDreams7 (Heh. That part was one of our favorite parts too... But... The N-mancer IS NOT LINK! T_T), Demon Cat Fury (Don't worry, we have a very twisted sense of humor as well.), Sinnatious (As always, you compliment us WAY too much! FNOK+2 could use a little fixing, so it is nowhere near Bible status. ^^ You're the only person who noticed that we used Rowen's full name for the first time! Yay! But you are correct, the N-mancer will not let off his hold on Roy so easily...), Persian Kittie (We didn't say he was short... He's just not the typical, tall bad guy. ^^ Marth's a pretty talented guy, tho.), Saikyou Kirei262 (I like long fanfics too! The good ones keep you entertained for the whole ride! Have we done that?), Kevin C (^^ You've just highlighted our favorite scene of the chapter! *gets back to work on another fun chapter for you*), tikimoof (. Yes... We adore Trave... But... We... can't.. say... anything...), Sprytie-whitie (O.O  Whoa, that is a LONG review.  Wow.  We're glad you like the plot!  And okay, the idea of a Necromancer isn't exactly the most original, but we liked it, soo… ^^ there ya go!), Ryuke-Naoe (^^ seriously, fanfiction of  fanfiction is funny!  ^^  Yesh, read it all!), PikaPower (^^;; heh… okay, so we've gotten really bad about updating…  sowee!), Rayestar Ikina (Well… it's not Link EXACTLY, but it's based on him.  Just 'cause Link's pretty.  ^^;; ), Sword Master Jeff (Awww…  Thank you so much!  You're one of the few guys who reads this, which makes you extra special!  Nope!  Ganondorf isn't special enough to be in this.), Dark Comet (Yes, the pretty ones are always just a little evil! ^^),  , YoshiMars (Yay, N-mancer fanart!  Whee!!  We'd love you forever!  Er, more than we already do!  ^^;; )), Curious DreamWeaver (Yes, Marth's very mature and confident for someone his age.  I love writing him.  Roy… ^^;; Roy's got a temper, which gets him in a lot of trouble.  So glad that you like it!), MysticalWoodElf (lurve!  ^^  Xan's mommy says lurve, so it's a special word.  ^^  Writing yaoi isn't THAT hard… but it is addicting, so beware!), bladegryphon (T_T  I feel so bad that this is so late…), RavenGhost (Whee, Soul Calibur II!  I love it!  *coughs*Nightmare*cough* but not as much as Bloody Roar.  And SSBM of course!  Aww…  nobody can write an FNOK fanfic, but that's okay.  It was kind of vain challenging people anyways.  ^^;; ), Morias (T_T  And of course, the wait between that chapter and this was even longer…  My deepest apologies! Heh, no, no worries about butchering FNOK… it's basically us butchering FE and SSBM), Crockgirl13 (Yay, everybody's getting it right!), Jennie (Sorry it took so long, but maybe it was sort of worth it?).

          "You're a prisoner. You _can't_ leave," Roy growled, rubbing his temples as he tried to stand up on trembling legs. There was a mark upon his forehead where the circlet had been. "And who are you to order me around? Unhand me and step away!"

          "Do as I say or I'll turn your blood to ice and your bones to snow," Marth snarled, holding Falcion to Roy's throat. "I'm your king and sovereign, your true master. Now _show me the way._"

          The general's eyes had returned to their normal cobalt blue color, but they shone with anger and embarrassment burned upon his cheeks. He, still threatened by Marth's sword, led him down the maze of halls. It was strange; there were no guards inside the ghost castle. Once the pair had reached the majestic marble stairs, Roy tried to break away again.

          "Okay, we're out. Now what are you going to do with me?" He snarled.

          "Bring you with me. Now shut up and stand there." Marth placed a mental "hook" in Roy's mind, and then placed a shield over the two of them that would shield them from the Necromancer's gaze until they were a fair distance away.

          "I've put a barb in your mind. If you try to run away or harm me, it will kill you," he told Roy with a snarl. It wasn't true of course. He would never do anything to kill Roy intentionally, but it _would_ make him feel quite unpleasant, and hopefully Roy wouldn't be able to tell he was bluffing.  
          "Come on."

          He jerked Roy's arm and began to walk away from the castle out into the wilderness. They were lucky, and didn't run into any of the zombie-soldiers, or anything else, for that matter. The land was dead, dry and barren as a result of the Necromancer's nefarious power.

          They had been walking for quite some time when Marth stopped abruptly and placed two fingers to his mouth, producing a piercing whistle.

          A few minutes later, Cloud cantered up, seeming none the worse for the wear after foraging for a day and a night. He seemed glad to see the two humans, and snuffled Marth affectionately.  He moved towards Roy, then stopped, looking as if he couldn't quite figure out what Roy was.  Marth patted his neck, giving him a word of praise, and climbed up onto his broad back. He turned his eyes to Roy.

          "Get on behind me."

          "I'd rather walk." Roy said plainly, refusing to get up on the horse with him. He was embarrassed enough from being taken from his own castle, but he definitely was not going to be a _willing_ hostage. This Roy may be different, but the teen's bad qualities were coming through like sunshine on a cloud_less_ day.

          "Either you get up on the horse or you get dragged behind it. It makes no difference to me," Marth replied. "I'm in a bit of a hurry and I can't afford to have you slowing me down."

          Roy looked down at the ground, but a smirk formed on his lips,

          "I know you're in a hurry, so you might have guessed it was the reason why I'm stalling. Just forget about it – you've lost already. You are only taking me closer and closer to my troops, where one snap from my fingers will send them all over you. Do with me what you wish, but I am not cooperating with you." The rudeness and sarcasm oozing from his voice was enough to choke even the most rotten of souls. But during that moment, the strangest thing was that he sounded quite pleased with himself. The teen looked up at the sun to get his bearings, and then began to walk south, the direction to Altea.

          Marth waited, watching Roy walk away from him. Then with a loud "HA!" he kicked Cloud into a gallop, driving him towards the retreating general. Marth seized Roy by the back of his tunic and hauled him up, tossing him crossways in the saddle in front of him.

          "Insufferable little bastard," he growled.

          Roy heard that and chuckled, looking up at Marth with his smirk. He did not move from his spot there, but merely clung onto the horse's mane.

          "Good. You're just riding to your death…" He threatened in a sing-song voice, albeit strained from the awkward position he was in.

          Marth ignored Roy for a long time, riding in silence towards Altea, and convincing himself that this was not the real Roy. Soon, he discovered that night was approaching and they needed to stop soon. He looked down at Roy and slowed Cloud. He wanted him back so badly… wanted his lover back. He couldn't help himself. Marth touched Roy's face lightly, giving it a small caress.

          The teen had seemingly fallen asleep – now his eyes shot open and stared up at Marth with confusion in his eyes, but not disgust.

          "Why do you touch me like that? Do you like men or something?"

          Marth averted his eyes, looking back up at the dark horizon, picking up the reins in both hands again.

          "I touch you like that because I love you." He replied quietly.

          "That's impossible. You've only seen me for a day, at most. You're really strange, for a king who's going to die," Roy answered quickly.

          "Roy, I've known you for years. We're lovers. You're my High General, the Fire Mage Roy. The Necromancer stole you from me."

          Roy coughed loudly,

          "Now you're just taking advantage of the fact that I have no memory of the past. Plus, all that magic talk is untrue – my magic was taken from me a long time ago. Are we stopping yet?"

          Marth reigned in Cloud and looked down at Roy. His fist connected with Roy's face with a loud _smack_, knocking him off the horse. Marth followed him, pinning Roy to the ground, staring into his eyes. Roy's mouth was bleeding. The King kissed the general, praying to every god he knew to let Roy remember their first blood-tainted kiss....  And unlock the rest of his memories as well.

          At first Roy struggled wildly, trying to shove Marth off of him, but then… he relaxed suddenly and tilted his face upward, welcoming Marth's lips on his own. His eyes were closed, of course, but his body gave a little shudder as it began to respond to the urgings of Marth's. The teen's hands began to move on their own, creeping up and under Marth's tunic and caressing his skin.

          Closing his eyes, Marth fell deeper and deeper into the kiss, the long-absent feeling of arousal rising within him again. He reached up and snapped the chain from which the fire-in-ice stone hung around his neck and pressed in into Roy's palm, the heat from their bodies making the gem unusually warm.

          _'Please remember,'_ he begged his partner.

          There was the hiss of burning flesh as the stone came into contact with Roy's skin, and he cried out in pain, dropping it immediately. It fell to the ground, discarded and forgotten once again.

          "I enjoy this…" Roy whispered in a low voice, rubbing his firm body up against the young king. He sounded… surprised, but thrust a hand into Marth's hair, grabbing a handful roughly.  Marth kissed Roy again, clutching his shoulders hard enough to bruise as their bodies brushed against one another. He needed this so much…  Craved the touch that he hadn't felt since this entire ordeal had begun…

          _'I can make it better for you, but you have to say my name.'_ Marth breathed into Roy's mind, his mouth too occupied with exploring Roy's own to speak aloud.

          "Marth…" Roy tilted his head back, exposing his neck and allowing Marth to kiss his throat.  The teen repeated the name over and over again till his throat went dry, and he could say it no more.

          Marth's hands trembled slightly as he fingered the fastenings to Roy's clothing. One part of him protested this - Roy was not in his right mind, but… the General was not resisting, quite the opposite, in fact. And some part of Roy still had to love him... or at least lust for him.

          "Roy..." He said, pulling Roy's tunic off to reveal his slim, muscled torso.  His hands seemed to move by themselves over the general's soft skin, and he lowered his face to kiss Roy's chest. "Roy, tell me what you feel." 

          A strange light in the general's eyes gleamed eerily as they kept flicking back and forth between Marth's hands and face.

          "This... This isn't right, is it?" He whispered hesitantly, and then raised a hand to touch one of Marth's own, then trailed down his torso. Roy shook his head, his breaths coming in short pants from his parted lips.

          Marth pressed his lips to Roy's, touching his mind to his lover's tentatively. 

          _'Roy, this is right... Everything else has been wrong...' _

          Roy drew back with a cry of pain, his brows furrowing.

          "My head... It hurts... I don't know what's happening! This seems so familiar but I can't remember!"

          Marth grabbed Roy's shoulders and pressed his lips to the general's again.

_          'Roy, you're my lover! You're my partner, the only one who I love! You have to remember that! Come back to me! Break the Necromancer's spell on you and come back to me! I love you, Roy!'_

          "... Love? ... Me?" The teen shook his head and rubbed his temples, glancing up at Marth with a determined look in his eyes. "I… just... need..." He slipped out of his breeches and lay there, fully naked, his hands aching to touch Marth.

          The young King took Roy's hands in his own so that they encircled Marth's waist and moved closer to his general, claiming Roy's lips with his own.   

          "You need me." Marth breathed, slipping out of his own clothes and running cool fingers down Roy's warm body. 

          Roy shivered violently at the temperature of his companion's hands, his body aroused and his eyes full of pure need.

          "C-Cold... Oh Gods, I need you so badly... I remember feeling like this." He pushed up so that their naked bodies were touching and sighed.

          Marth felt a tiny shiver run though his body as Roy's warm flesh pressed up against his. He and Roy were the perfect match to one another - hot and cold, red and blue, Prince and commoner. They were two halves that had been disconnected for too long… they needed to be whole once again…

          "You remember this... You remember me..." He felt Roy's need, felt his own need rising in his body. He couldn't fight it any longer, and found that he didn't want to.

          A certain auburn-haired general opened his eyes slowly, taking a moment to check his surroundings. He could feel that his arms were wrapped tightly around the torso of another man, that they were in very close proximity to one another under a saddle blanket, and that he was naked. Roy freed one of his hands and lifted his head a little, staring into Marth's face. He remembered waking up like this before, in the King's bed back home.

         Home... Where was home? He couldn't quite get a picture of it in his head, unable to remember his room, the training grounds, or the castle. Marth was his home now. Roy reached over and smoothed out Marth's fine blue hair and gave him a deep kiss, remembering the taste of his lips from earlier. But now it was dawn.

          The young King of Altea made a small noise of surprise and pleasure in his throat as he woke, welcoming Roy's kiss and returning the general's favor. It was a most delightful way to be roused from sleep he decided, definitely the one that he preferred over all. 

          "Good morning," he said softly when he was completely awake. He almost regretted having to speak and break the tranquility. Dawn was blooming on the horizon, a pale yellow flower extending its petals over the harsh landscape around them. The light was watery and feeble, and yet cut like a knife through the air. Dew sparkled on the surrounding ground and he could hear the quiet clip-clop of Cloud's hooves as the animal grazed on the sparse grass. 

          His lover was lying beside him, his auburn hair mussed from the previous night's activities, and his eyes, his wonderfully clear, beautiful blue eyes, no longer tainted by the Necromancer's evil, were staring right into his. 

          "You've come back to me, Roy." Marth spoke quietly, touching his face. "And now it's time to go home."

          "I am with you... But I still feel his presence inside me. He knows where I am, Marth," Roy said with a hint of darkness in his tone. He looked away, then off to the side to scan the area for his clothes. "I have another plan, if you'd care to hear it."

          Marth's eyes saddened for a moment. Of course... no sense of joy would last long under these circumstances, not even the ecstasy of what they had shared last night... He sighed and reached behind him to grab Roy's clothes and hand them to his general. His eyes spotted the fire-in-ice on the ground and picked it up, once again fastening it around his neck.  

          "Here... What is the plan?"

          "I'm sorry... I know you won't like this, but we'll have to split up. Once we get to the capital, there will be thousands of armed soldiers waiting for us there, waiting for me to command them. I bring you to them as our hostage for my... _our_ enemy while I work things out with the troops. I'll help you escape to the castle... I obviously have no idea whether it will all work out, but at least it will get you back to the castle where you are needed." Roy pulled on his pants and shirt quickly and efficiently, rubbing his eyes. Marth reached for his own clothes, standing slowly. He was a bit sore – the ground was not nearly as soft as his beloved bed back at the castle. 

          "Well, you're right... I don't like it. There are too many risks... What are you going to do if the zombie army discovers that their general has turned traitor? What if the escape doesn't work?" He pulled on his shirt and swept his hair back into a horsetail, looking at Roy intently. 

          "They won't find out, I'll make sure of it. By the time those un-dead zombies find out, I'll be long gone. I realize there are a lot of holes in this plan, but it's the only one that I thought was somewhat plausible," Roy answered. "I apologize for... letting myself be captured, your Highness."

          With that, he began to tack up Cloud.

          Cloud reached over his shoulder to snuffle Roy's hair, giving Marth a reproachful look over the general's head. Marth frowned at the horse, feeling that even his noble steed was against him. No, what was he thinking? Roy's plan was a sensible one... It had more holes than Trave's sanity, but they could pull it off. They _had_ to pull it off.  
          "You're forgiven, Roy."

          He walked over to the two of them, patting Cloud's neck fondly.   
          "I have faith in you. If you think this plan will work, then I have no reason to doubt you. But we need to hurry before the Necromancer decides to try something new and even more vicious. He'll be angry now that you've defected." 

          Roy bowed his head and motioned for Marth to go ahead and mount his horse.

          "There's no sense in worrying about that... I already know he's angry. But I'm getting a strange feeling of déja vu – we're on the outside, trying to get into the castle again. I have a feeling that it's going to be trickier than last time... Have you contacted Rowen lately?" 

          "No, not since before we left the castle. The Necromancer cut off my mindspeech, but I think we're far enough away so that it'll work now... Rowen probably thinks I've gone off the deep end. I'll contact him and let him know what we're up to."

          Marth closed his eyes.

          _'Rowen, can you hear me?'_

          Many miles away, a castle was in danger of falling apart without its ruler. But it seemed that neither side could make a move without their commanding officers, never minding that their generals were one and the same.

          _'This had better be good, Marth.'_

          Marth winced. This was not good... He could tell from Rowen's tone that he was in serious, serious trouble with Rowen. ...Not that he blamed Rowen for being angry.  
          _'Rowen, please listen to me... The Necromancer took away my mindspeech, so I could not contact you sooner. I have Roy back. He's all right.'_

          Silence.

          _'I'll be the judge of that... Just get back here. Now.' _There was a certain shakiness to the older mage's voice that wasn't very reassuring. 

          Marth felt ice creep into his veins, but not the comforting ice that he appreciated and welcomed. He knew his face had paled.

          _'Rowen, we can't come back right away, but we're trying... What's happened, Rowen?'_

          'I can't talk right now. Later.' With that said, the connection was abruptly cut off, leaving Marth in silence.

          Roy watched Marth's face as he talked with his mind. Something didn't look good.  
          "Is something wrong?"

          "...Something is definitely wrong." 

          Marth's hands tightened on Cloud's reins, but he didn't really feel them. He bit his lower lip, but he couldn't feel that either. Something in Rowen's voice, something in the old man's tone had told Marth that he needed to get back to his castle as quickly as possible, no matter what the consequences. 

          "Something's wrong with Rowen... Or something horrible has happened, I don't know which. We have to get back now, Roy. People are going to die, I can feel it."

          Inwardly, Marth was racked with guilt. Had he abandoned his country right when it needed it most? What kind of king was he...?

To be continued… 

Vallen: If you want to be bad and read more of the lime part that didn't quite make it in this chapter, follow the link at the bottom.

Xan: (Not available).


	9. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

We apologize for the lack of indents. I tried to fix it, but it just wouldn't work with me.

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this. Original characters.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan: Oh my god, so much happened in this chapter. I hope you can handle it all!

Vallen: Hey, this is a long-ass chapter, so… I really hope you like it. "New" characters are introduced and the plot thickens. I also have decided to start putting "Original characters" in the warning, because some people don't like it that we use original characters in our stories. Sorry, but Mario or Bowser just doesn't fit in a story like this. Carry on.

Thank you to:

Raiknii (Awesome! Thanks a lot!), Altean Princess of Destiny (o.o that is a really long user name. But don't worry, this will get finished… We're just a little slow.), Gambitt775 (What are you talking about?? We're not stuck! We never get stuck… Heh. :P), IceBlade09 (No, we're not! We love all of you! ^_^), MysticalWoodElf (SOON. I hope this chapter answers a lot of your questions.), Nikki (o.o Woah. I hope that your principal is a bit less psycho than Trave.), yaoifangirl (You like Roy as a victim? Well, you're not the only one!), Smoky(Sorry for it not being there… I'll try to get it in there now), MinyDreams7 (That was our first attempt at a lime, so thank you for the compliment.), Kevin C (XD Sadly, we have not played the Fire Emblem game, so we have no idea what we're talking about when we talk about the countries. Creative license, you know?), Deity of Sorrow (And you're kewl for reviewing. :P), pannybaby123 (You wait is over! Now hurry up and read!), Nataku (Adored? Wow… That's… awesome.), Pichu*Star (I can just picture you gnashing your teeth… It's funny. ^^; But the Necromancer is based off Link.), The Owner of TO (Yes, we usually update… And we'll try to do it every week or two weeks.. ^^; ), Persian Kittie (There should be a link at the bottom of this chapter, hopefully. Aww… Thanks for the compliments. ), Rayestar Ikina (Sorry for the really really long wait! We felt terrible after that… But thank you so much for saying that it's as good as the first one.),           =D (Heh. What a lurvely name indeed.), Demon Cat Fury (Risking punishment?? Oh no, don't do that! But then again, I know personally how addicting fanfiction can be.), Crockgirl13 (Roy-chan is back in action!), Jennie(You're dead? Hurry up and come back to life!), Insane Ryuu (O_O We have been updated to god status. Hooray!), PikaPower (It's at the end of this chapter, hopefully!), Sinnatious (Ah, your lovely review… ^^ You are exactly right! It was a little too easy for Marth to get Roy. There MUST be complications. And all those analogies are making me hungry too… :3), Sword Master Jeff (No, we never die! We just… go away for a while. ^^; But yes, it does remind us that sometimes, we try to fix everything and yet, we still fail.), RavenGhost (*cheers* We're number ONE! *jumps* Now go study.), and bladegryphon (You're exactly right. The Necromancer won't let Roy go that easily…).

"You feel guilty... Highness, we'll hurry as fast as we possibly can. And once we get there, I will do everything humanly possible to help you get things set right. It is really my fault.. For getting captured and forcing you into coming to get me."

Marth jumped - he hadn't expected Roy to take the blame for this.  He turned and looked at Roy right in the eye, a very serious expression on his face.  

"Roy, listen to me.  I do not feel guilty about coming to rescue you- it's just unfortunate that I was forced to leave with my country in a crisis like this.  But I need you to be my support and I need you to be my general.  So don't you dare feel guilty for getting captured - it wasn't your fault.  We _will_ beat this enemy."

A determined light shone in Marth's eyes and he dug his heels into Cloud's sides.  The stallion jumped forward and they began to gallop towards Altea.

"This is it. You need to... pretend you're my captive, okay? Stop here." Roy jumped off the horse and rummaged around in Cloud's side packs. His eyes lit up once he found what he was looking for.

"Once the soldiers see us, I'll order them to take you away. But don't worry, they will not harm you unless I say. I'll try to break you out tonight... Does that sound okay? I'm a little worried about the Necromancer..." The general said as he got the bit of rope and tied it around Marth's wrists, helping him get off Cloud. He then got back on the stallion and tied the rope to the saddle.

"Ready?"

"...As ready as I'll ever be for this."  

Marth, a skilled actor when the occasion called for it, plastered an expression that perfectly displayed a beaten, but not broken man with an edge of defiance in the way he carried his head.  He imagined how shameful he would look to the zombie soldiers, being led into an enemy camp like a runaway slave behind his own horse.  The king was reminded briefly of another time, years ago when he had been a runaway slave...  Things had seemed so disastrous now, but they had prevailed.  And he knew that they would prevail here as well.

_'We need to get back to the capital as fast as we can, but there's no point sacrificing safety for speed.  The entire point of getting there would be defeated if we arrived in pine boxes.'_  Marth sent to Roy as he walked behind him and Cloud.

'I know... And for once, let me handle this, okay? You don't know what the zombies are like...'

They walked into the camp slowly. This was clearly the main camp, tents pitched in rows by the hundreds to accommodate the thousands of un-dead soldiers. There was one large tent in the center, clearly used for the upper-ranked soldiers. Marth and Roy were surrounded by a flank of guards immediately and the auburn-haired general held up a hand, a commanding tone in his voice. They leered all around the two, their rotting flesh raising quite a stench.

"Halt! I come with orders from the Master and a prisoner!" He yelled.

The head guard let out a grunt of acknowledgement after looking Marth over. Prisoner indeed.

"Take him away and make sure that this horse is put away properly!" Roy ordered, sliding off. When the zombie-men did not jump at attention, he snapped in an even louder, impatient voice. "Well, what are you waiting for, you fools?! Get moving!"

That got them moving... And Roy did not give Marth so much as a mere glance before he strode off to the main tent.

Marth allowed himself to be led away, not responding to the painful prodding that his escorts subjected him to.  It was nothing, he told himself as he walked voluntarily into a dank cell.  I have been through much worse than this.

The king sat with his back to the cell wall, the iron digging into his shoulder blades.  It was like being a slave again, only this time, he knew that he had a friend on the outside.  He knew that Roy would never betray him, now that he remembered who Marth was.  

For the first time in years, the blue-haired mage felt the protective ice slide over his heart and mind.  It was a comforting sensation.  Being like this was too much like being Gaimen's pleasure toy, brought back too many bad memories.  

Roy.  Marth had to keep his faith in Roy, his general, lover and best friend.  And he had to keep it for his kingdom, who needed him more than ever now.  And so the king sat down, prepared for a long wait.  

Roy met with his semi-conscious subjects and feigned the arrogance of the general that they were used to. The strange thing was that it wasn't that hard to let himself slip into the headstrong leader of soldiers. More than anything else, it scared him.

_'It's just the Necromancer's hold on me... Nothing else... Remnants of him are still in my mind,'_ He told himself. Or was he telling himself a bald-faced lie?

"We attack tomorrow morning at dawn."

'I hope that's enough time for Marth to get his act together... I can only spare him one night- The soldiers are already getting suspicious and antsy.'

The general walked to the exit of the tent and peered out. The sun was beginning to set. Soon enough he would be released from his duties for the night and would have the time to sneak Marth out.

It was past midnight when a long high-pitched creaking noise caused Marth to stir and raise his head.  He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, several hours certainly.  

_'Roy?'_  He sent mentally on their private connection.

There was no answer. All that was heard was the soft sound of trembling fingers inserting the keys into the locking mechanism of Marth's cell. Roy stood there holding a bundle in his arms, his eyes not visible in the dark. He tossed the bundle towards the king- A full soldier's uniform, complete with a helmet and visor.

The king caught the bundle and began to pull on the clothes silently.  He tucked his other clothes and helmet under his arm and walked out of the cell.  He squeezed Roy's shoulder lightly.

'Thank you.  Escape soon... and be safe.'  

He ducked into the darkness, pulling the helmet on to conceal his face.  Cloud was kept in the stable, no doubt they had intended to keep the horse for their own ranks.  The stallion snorted and reached his head towards Marth.  Marth quieted Cloud and mounted him as silently as he could.  Without even a look back, Marth dug his heels into his sides and took off towards the capital.

Roy knew he would be fine. He had gone at great lengths to make sure no guards were posted along the way that Marth would travel back to the city. The general let out a gasp and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself. He let his head bow down and his eyes close.

_'So you let the King go... He risks his life to save you, and you give that up and show him the way out... But no matter- I have three times the number of soldiers he does,'_ the voice of the Necromancer snarled in his head.

Roy clenched his jaw tightly.

_'I'll burn them all. And then you will have nothing!'_

There was a long silence, but Roy could feel the dark mage thinking. His heart pounded in his chest, seemingly as loud as thunder.

'Ah. I did wonder how you found a way to break my hold on your mind... But that little show last night was quite enjoyable. I had no idea that you two loved each other that much.'

The auburn haired young man fought to get to his feet, staggering out of the cage and into the moonlight. He stared up at the pale orb in the sky, its reflection in his eyes.

'So what are you going to do about it? Find a way to let the Kingdom know and ruin Marth? I'm all-ears, Necromancer.'

'Maybe... But I'm sure I could think of something much worse. Perhaps a few demons from your pasts will be paying you two a visit. Heh.'

An image of two men were projected in Roy's head and his eyes widened impossibly. No... Those men were supposed to stay in their graves... He was speechless, other than the strangled whimper that died in his throat.

_'What time shall I say that you are expecting them?'_

"Never!!" Roy yelled aloud, breaking into a fast sprint towards his tent.

'Tomorrow it is, then.'

Cloud had never felt so exhausted in all of his life.  His hooves felt like they weighed as much as a hundred pounds of brick each, his muscles ached like nothing he had ever felt before and the saddle on his back was rubbing painful sores into his skin, but he kept running.  Because his master had asked him to.  Cloud would run for Marth until his heart stopped.

Marth could sense his loyal stallion's severe fatigue, but he had to ask Cloud to carry him just a bit farther… just a bit farther…

"Just to the castle, Cloud and then I promise that you'll be able to rest for a month with Blackmare and Onyx and sleep all day and get fat… with all the apples you could want, I promise."  Marth was practically pleading the horse to keep moving, to get to the castle before it was too late…  Already dawn was breaking on the horizon and silhouetted against it, the castle; a trace of hope appearing in the blood red light of the rising sun.  "There it is, Cloud!  Do you see it?!  Just get to the castle, boy…  Please Cloud, don't stop…"  

The horse faltered, nearly going down on his knees, but caught himself valiantly at the last minute, his nostrils dilated and sweat-flanked sides heaving with exertion.  Marth was thrown up against Cloud's neck, twining his fingers tightly into the grey mane until he couldn't feel his fingertips.  

It wasn't long before the nearly dead man and beast arrived at the castle gate.  Marth could feel that Cloud was just barely standing and reached down to pat his neck reassuringly when he felt an arrow whistle by his ear.  Cloud shied, or tried to, but was too tired to do much more than raise his head quickly and roll his eyes with alarm.  Marth was perplexed for a moment, then realized that he was still wearing the uniform of one of the zombie soldiers!  That coupled with Cloud's near-cadaverous appearance, no wonder they had thought him one of the living dead!  

"Don't shoot!  I'm friend, not foe!"  Marth pulled off the helmet and threw it aside, revealing his once-youthful face, now haggard by the stress and pain of the last few weeks.  But it was the same face.  The guards drew back their crossbows, but did not stand down completely.  Even then, they weren't completely sure.

"Prove that you're his Majesty!"

"I am the Prince Marth, he who was tortured by first Gaimen, then Trave!  I bear the scars on my body to prove it!"  He tore off the armor on his chest and let the guardsmen see the scars from Gaimen and Trave that had turned his body into an intricate network of lines, much like the web of an insane spider carved into flesh.   "And if that is not proof enough, I can recite the history of the Lowell line going back thirteen centuries!"

"It is his Majesty, let him in!"  A voice Marth dimly recognized as Farro's shouted.  

The gates swung open and Marth dug his heels into Cloud's sides, urging the horse to use the last of his strength to get inside the barricades as quickly as he could.  Cloud responded gallantly, throwing himself into the task that Marth asked of him.  

People of all sorts, peasants, nobles, children and beggars had all gathered at the word of Marth's return.  But it was hardly the splendid affair that they had perhaps expected.  As soon as they were inside and the gates had been securely closed again, Marth jumped off of Cloud and began to strip him of his tack as fast as he could, his fingers fumbling in his haste.

"Don't worry Cloud, it'll be okay…" He murmured, tossing the saddle aside.  Cloud stood stark still, motionless aside from the trembling that shook his entire body.  Marth took off the horse's bridle and threw his arms around Cloud's neck, not caring if anyone, or even the whole kingdom saw him now.  He had known Cloud almost as long as he had known Roy and the horse had done nothing but serve him faithfully through trial and tribulation through all that time…  He would even go so far as to say that Cloud was one of his dearest friends.  

"Please, Cloud, be okay…" Marth whispered, knowing that somehow, the words were in vain.  Cloud nickered once, pressing his soft, velvety nose to Marth's back, and then collapsed onto the hard ground.  Marth went down with him, falling roughly to his knees, holding Cloud's head in his arms.  The light had gone from the horse's gentle black eye, never to shine again.  Cloud was dead.

Marth couldn't do anything but stare down at the rapidly cooling head in his hands.

Moments later, there was a trembling hand at his shoulder, firm yet weak at the same time.

"That horse loved you and wanted to give all it had for you, so accept what it had to give and don't stop too long to mourn its passing." It was Rowen's voice, except the older man's voice was hoarse and tired. Tears were in his amethyst eyes, but were they tears of exhaustion or sadness? He knelt down and forced Marth to let go of the stallion's head gently, grabbing his shoulders and then pulling him to his feet.

Marth wanted to embrace Rowen, the only father figure that he had ever really had and cry into the old man's robes, as a small boy cries to his father when a beloved pet dies.  But instead, the tears turned to ice in eyes unable to shed them.  Not here, not in front of the people.  They deserved a strong man for a king, not a sobbing, mourning boy.  

"I want him to be cremated..."  Marth fought hard to keep his voice from wavering.  His eyes were fixed on Rowen's face, his hands clutching at the old man's robes.

'R-rowen... I...  I think I'm going to be sick.  I n-need to g-get inside...'

'Alright.'

Rowen walked with Marth, keeping up appearances in front of the people, but supporting the young King at the same time. Only when they were hidden behind the castle gates did Rowen sweep Marth into his arms and carry him up into the palace. He placed him directly in his bed and collapsed in a chair beside it, giving him a small bucket in case he really was going to be sick. The hoards of advisors had been stalled by a magic-fused lock on Marth's door and Gwen sat on the floor, in a corner.

"I'm not going to pretend that I'm not angry with you."

Marth was too dizzy with heartache and fatigue to notice that Rowen had picked him up and actually carried him to his soft bed.  The wall that had built itself up inside of him, forcing him to be strong and not show weakness to the people was crumbling under the strain of having to see Roy be captured, his country attacked and beaten and now his beloved and faithful horse dying right before his eyes.  Momentarily overwhelmed, Marth clutched the bucket and violently vomited the meager contents of his stomach into it.  

Only when his body had quieted itself and he could lie back, his head throbbing a little did he respond to Rowen's statement.  

"I know...  I'm sorry, Rowen...  And Gwen..."

"You went gallivanting off into enemy territory, looking for Roy, and now that you're back, where is he? We could certainly use that healing power of his right about now, but I can fix you up a little." Rowen extended his trembling hands and began to work away Marth's exhaustion. Gwen, dressed in a simple white shift, got up and kneeled at the edge of the bed, but did not intrude on their conversation.

"Now, for the love of Altea, tell me what's going on!" The older mage growled in a low voice.

Marth pushed himself up on the pillow, feeling a little better thanks to Rowen's generous powers.  Already, his grief was ebbing and subsiding back into his already aching heart to be put aside until later, when he had the time to deal with it properly.  It was a time that seemed to be very far away.  

But now he had to be a king again.

"Roy is still with the Necromancer's army, acting undercover as his general.  He's going to return back over here and rejoin us as soon as he can.  He's back on our side now."

"And? Did you venture all that way and learn nothing? Tell me details, boy! Are we going to lose miserably and all die a painful death?" Rowen's tone was bitter and crude. Clearly having to stay in the castle with the advisors and baby-sit Marth's kingdom hadn't improved his mood at all.

"The Necromancer doesn't want anything but us and our powers.  He's determined to conquer all magic so that all that exists is his own.  He wanted me to surrender, but I refused.  He plans to attack soon, I think today or tonight.  I was in a prison all of last night and I didn't get much information.  And Roy didn't say anything to me at all.  There's a chance I could get in contact with him, but I don't know how risky that would be considering that the Necromancer still has a trace hold on him."

Marth relayed this information to Rowen, hoping that the older mage would have a better idea of what to do than him.  He looked down at Gwen and one of the thoughts that had flitted through his mind during the long night of isolation in the prison cell occurred to him again.  He needed to talk to her later.

"That's just great. I love how all this is working out..." Rowen groaned and leaned back in his chair. "So they'll attack tomorrow, seeing as there's been no action tonight? Do you have any idea how to run an army, just in case Roy doesn't come back? He left his second-in-command in charge, but that fellow doesn't look like he can hold up under conditions like this."

The sandy-haired girl sensed Marth's eye on her and looked up, her eyes questioning.

"I apologize, Rowen..." Indeed, he was sorry that he had heaped his burden on Rowen's shoulders, but it had to be done... "I understand if you want to leave.  You rightfully shouldn't have any part in this.  I know how to run an army, but I just don't have the experience that Roy does.  However, I think I can do it."

The innocent, curious light in Gwen's blue eyes pricked at Marth's heart.  It was going to make it even harder to ask her to do what he needed her to.

"Rowen, I need to talk to Gwen privately for a few minutes.  But we can finish our discussion first."

"Well, I sure hope you can do it... You may want to go talk to the troops tonight- Tell them what's going on and what to prepare for. Also don't forget to tell them to use fire. It's the only way that those zombies can be destroyed, that we know of," the mage of weather said, standing up. He picked up Gwen and deposited her in the chair gently. "I've said all that I had to say... You can call me later if I'm needed." With that, he was gone.

Cobalt blue eyes followed Rowen's back as he left the room and Marth made a mental note to take Rowen's advice and go to talk to the troops and officers - but later.  

"Gwen, I have something to ask of you...  And it's a request, not a command.  You can say no."

The servant-girl's eyes widened. This was a rare occasion... Marth had taken her aside and was requesting something of her. It must be important.

"You're asking me this not because I am your servant... You know I would do anything for you," she said quietly.

Marth took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, staring into the former slave girl's sincere face.  

"Gwen, would you do me the service... no, the honor... would you do me the honor of being the mother of my child?"

The words were difficult for him to say and he was sure that they were difficult for Gwen to comprehend.  He was asking her, the victim of multiple rapes and countless sexual abuse to consent to sleeping with him once for the sake of begetting an heir.  But it was also more than that...

"You're one of the kindest, most gentle-hearted and loving people that I know and I know that you would be a good mother.  I just... if anyone were to have the next heir to my kingdom and my child, I want it to be you..."

Gwen couldn't hold back the loud gasp that came from her small body, moving to hug her knees and stare at Marth with widened eyes. She couldn't look him in the eye, so she just focused on his mouth, trying to comprehend what he had just said.

"But... I... Me...? Why me? Out of all the beautiful women... Why do you a-ask me now? Do you think... that you're going to d-die?"

Marth was silent for an entire minute before he finally responded to Gwen's question.

"Because you're not royal, because you understand about Roy and I and what we went through." He looked at her. "Gwen, I don't know if I'm going to die or not. I hope not, but if I do, I don't want to leave Altea in a situation where there is no heir. Please Gwen."

"You… really are a good king, Marth…" Gwen responded softly, slowly lifting her eyes to Marth's.

Marth looked into her eyes, slightly surprised by her sudden boldness, but he didn't let it show lest it frighten her again.

"I try to be… It's my duty."

"… It has to be tonight, right? Because there's going to be a battle tomorrow…" The girl looked uncertain before saying, "I-I can do it."

Marth felt a tight knot in his chest loosen as she uttered her consent. He could have kissed her.

"Thank you… You don't know how much it means to the country… How much it means to me…"

"But it doesn't mean anything else, right? You still love Sir Roy, right? I don't want to intrude on your relationship with him…" Gwen questioned, a little concerned. All the while, she still couldn't believe that she was talking about going to bed with someone for the first time in many years… Images of Trave flashed through her head- Not even 5 years of freedom could push away a childhood of abuse.

"No… I still love Roy very much. You are very special to me, as a friend and companion, but Roy is my only love."

"Good… I just… wanted to make sure…" Gwen began to slip the straps of her simple shift off her shoulders, exposing her meagerly sized chest. "I know I'm not very nice to look at, so p-please don't say anything…"

"You know I'd never insult you." Marth removed his tunic, his body somewhat battered, but still relatively impressive. He extended his hand to Gwen, a gentleman to the last.

The door to Marth's chambers slid open noiselessly as the very person who had put a magic lock on it in the first place broke the lock and came in. The weary old mage of weather glided in gracefully and approached the bed.

_'Marth?'_ He woke the sleeping King up with a mental tug, glancing at Gewn as he did so. The girl looked pale, drops of sweat still visible on the sheets where she rested. Rowen's eyes dropped to where Gwen's two small hands were clutching one of Marth's own for support.

The blue-haired man awoke without moving, raising his eyes to Rowen's face.

_'Don't say anything please until I can explain.'_ Marth eased out of the bed, slipping his hand out of Gwen's as gently as he could. He touched her face lightly, bidding her body to sleep a while longer. It wasn't until he and Rowen were out of the room did he turn to the mage, a question in his tired eyes.

"You need to go tell those soldiers what their opposition is like. It's not fair to them if they go to battle tomorrow with a legion of un-dead zombies and not know about it," Rowen said, his tone heavy.

"I know." Marth's voice was momentarily muffled as he pulled on his tunic. "I'll go do that now… Rowen, what did you do with Cloud?"

"Your noble steed is being cremated as we speak, as per your request… Gods, I'm beginning to sound like one of your damned advisors. This is the end."

Marth eyed Rowen, his expression weighted down.

"You've served me several times over, old man… Go back to your wilderness. I've no right to keep you here."

"Look, I'm not going anywhere," Rowen stated. "Especially not now- You might need my help (I'm not completely powerless, you know) and I know one girl who's going to want someone to be there when she wakes up."

"You know how to make me feel guilty, don't you? I'm beginning to think you like it…" Marth told Rowen heavily.

"I only say the truth," He answered simply. "I still can't believe that you did that to Gwen, though… To someone like her, I don't think going to bed with someone can be consensual ever again, but I don't know. You tell me." The man closed his eyes for a moment and looked away, clamping his mouth shut.

Annoyance crossed Marth's face.

"Look Rowen, I didn't do anything to Gwen. I have too much respect for her feelings and too much love for Roy to sleep with her because I felt like it. I asked her and she said yes, for the sake of perpetuating the Lowell line. I don't want anything to happen to me and leave Altea without an heir. Do you?"

"No, of course not. But what do I know about ruling a country? I wasn't bred for the role, so don't listen to me." Rowen said, walking away.

He knew that he had offended Rowen… or something, and he was sorry. But he couldn't concentrate on it now.

"Rowen, I'm sorry. But please be here for Gwen." He stood and walked to the barracks.

"Your Majesty! We've been awaiting your return!" Roy's second-in-command ran up to Marth eagerly. He, along with the rest of the kingdom, looked edgy, weary and depressed all at the same time. But the sight of his king gave him hope.

"General Hadrian," Marth's strong, confident voice betrayed how he truly felt. The odds were stacked against them, but the fact that Roy was alive and on their side again lifted his spirits. "What is our status?"

"Well… You know the number of our troops, but as far as the men are concerned, they're all really jittery and restless. We've been under siege for quite a while, but they haven't made a move! Do you have an idea on when they will strike?"

"I have it on impeccable authority that they will attack tomorrow at daybreak."

Hadrian's eyes nearly doubled in size as he caught himself from gaping in shock.

"Tomorrow?! But Your Majesty, we can't possibly be ready by then…"

"It's your job to make sure that we can." Marth replied grimly.

The discussion was closed.

Bloodshot cobalt eyes stared at the capital city that lay before him, unblinking and vacant. His hands shook feverishly as he gripped the reins of the horse he was mounted on way too tightly.

"Nervous, General?" A heavy, rotting hand clapped him on the back and he almost passed out from the stench.

"Not at all, Gaimen," Roy replied through clenched teeth, forcing himself not to glare at the zombie astride the horse directly beside him.

Gaimen had been with him for several hours now, plotting his battle schemes and the way they would crush the King of Altea. A shudder passed through Roy's body as he tried to block the memories of being in the same room as Gaimen and Trave for the past few hours. Sure enough, the Necromancer had sent them as promised.

_'Marth… This is killing me…'_ He thought hopelessly, knowing that his plea would never actually reach his partner.

Gaimen cackled, looking back at the huge legions of zombie-soldiers behind them.

"Let's march."

A distinct feeling of unease swamped Marth's emotions as he stood on the castle wall, his blue hair and cape stirred by the breeze.  There wasn't a living creature within twenty miles of the castle.  All livestock had been slaughtered, all the people were safely inside the walls.  He had ordered the armies to stay inside as well, until there was no other resort.  Any man who died on the battlefield could be risen and made into the enemy.  Any dead were to be burned.  

Marth knew deep down in the pit of his stomach that this battle would be a bad one.  Many men would die.  Maybe even he would die.  Maybe he was already dead and just didn't know it.  But that wasn't it.  There was something else, something that he had not foreseen.  Something bad was coming.  

"Your Majesty, I see them!  The enemy army approaching!"  A scout cried, pointing off into the distance.  

Every head turned in the direction the man had pointed, including Marth's.  Indeed, he could see the outline and the dust in the air on the horizon.  

'Roy...'

_'No... I can't do this... I won't do this...'_ Roy thought frantically, his eyes flicking back and forth from Gaimen, to the capital, to the thousands of soldiers behind him. Gaimen had just ordered them to destroy every building that made up the city outside the castle gates.

He let out a yell and reined his horse in, turning around sharply and galloping towards a squad of soldiers. The young general called upon his powers and unleashed a huge vortex of fire on them, torching them to ashes.

"Roy, you fool!" Gaimen did the same and came up so that his horse was aligned with Roy's. He reached out and yanked Roy's head back by grabbing a handful of his auburn hair and breaking his concentration.

"Better to be a fool than a traitor!" Roy yelled in defiance, trying to jerk himself away from Gaimen's grip. That hand let up and another hand was now at his arm, clenching so tight that Roy thought it might bruise. He pulled him along and their horses were walking side by side again.

"Don't try a stunt like that again. You are in charge of the master's army, or did you forget?"

"My loyalty lies with Marth!"

"So it would seem. Come now, you wouldn't want to miss our big entrance, now would you?"

Trave glanced over at the two bickering generals and rolled his eyes.  Or more aptly, his eye-sockets.  Gaimen was a great friend due to their similar interests, but he had no skill in manipulation.  Or at least, Gaimen's methods were far too ham-handed and obvious for him anyways.  

In life, the slaver had been a man of great elegance and reputable charm and beauty, but it was all gone now.  Having died several moths prior to Gaimen, his corpse body was in a more advanced state of deterioration.  His eyes had long since rotted out, leaving only cobwebs in their place, befitting his haggard, eaten-away face.  One ear was gone, as well as most of his nose and his lips and cheeks were full of holes that gaped whenever he talked, the stringy tissue giving a perfect example of the muscular anatomy of a once-beautiful face.  His body fared no better, bones showing through rotted, hanging flesh, his once-fine clothes moth-eaten and full of holes.  

Smiling a horrific skeleton smile, Trave pointed with a decaying hand towards the castle.

"Do you see your lover-Prince there?  Wave to him since I doubt you'll be talking together again.  Alive in any case."

The feeling of wrong-ness increased suddenly as Marth sensed a lurch of magic and a sudden surge of anger.  Roy was in trouble, or else he wouldn't have let his magic flare so.  Or more trouble than was expected.  

Marth reached for Roy's mind, narrowing his eyes at the figure of his general on the horizon in concentration.  

_'Roy!'  _

"Get your slimy hands off me!" Roy struggled against the hand that was half bone and half skin. He could feel the horse underneath him begin to shift its weight, getting antsy from the movement above.

_'I can't let you destroy my entire army...'_ Came the voice in his head.

He looked down and saw his body grow calm on its own, and his arms grab the reins to steer the animal towards Altea.

_'No... I can't control myself... I don't want to fight Marth!'_

Was it his hallucination, or did he really see Marth down there?

The soldiers heard a deep snarling noise and looked around, perplexed to see what was making it.  Only when their eyes stopped at Marth did they realize that it was the king himself.  

"That's it... saddle Cloud for me and-" Marth cut himself off, realizing that Cloud was dead.  He couldn't ride out into battle with him.  

"Damn it to hell..." He cursed under his breath.  Whoever those two men were, they were hurting Roy mentally and physically and he could feel it.  Marth's hand tightened on Falcion's hilt.  There was more than one way to skin a cat... or destroy an army.  

"Saddle my horse, I'm going to the front with the soldiers.  Nobody get near me..." Marth growled, turning and rushing down the stairs to the lower levels, his cape whirling behind him.  

_'Roy, shield yourself when you see me riding out!'_  He sent to his partner with as much force as he could, making sure that Roy heard him.

Marth's voice was faint and weak in his head, but he heard his king nevertheless. That voice was soon joined with the low hissing one of the Necromancer and the cry of protest from his own mind. Roy's eyes began to flame with fervor and he spurred his horse into a fast gallop, straight towards Marth.

He watched as one hand gripped the reins and one unsheathed his sword, charging straight towards Marth. They would fight... Perhaps to the death.

"I'm going to kill you, King Marth of Altea!" A voice exploded from Roy's lips, but it wasn't his own.

Falcion was a cold, familiar hardness in the hands of the King of Altea, a hardness that Marth knew all too well.  A snarl curled Marth's lip, knowing that it wasn't his lover who was promising his death.  He dug his spurred heels into the sides of the blood bay gelding beneath him, driving the horse forward.  

He swept the enchanted sword up, the blade becoming something like ice, veined through by blue magic.  

"Just try it, Necromancer!"  Marth shouted, pointing Falcion towards the warrior who was not Roy.  His power was channelled through the sword and blasted at both the general and the legions of zombie troops behind him. 

"You will fall by the hand of your lover's sword!" Roy heard himself yell as they clashed together once, as if in a joust. He whirled his horse around and doubled back, snarling.

The smell of death was everywhere, filling Roy's senses completely. Several yards behind Marth were the soldiers of Altea, confused as to why their High General was going into battle with the King. But another figure came into view, one that they had not seen for a very long time...

"Marth!" Gaimen barked from the side, allowing a smirk to spread across his un-dead face. 

Confrontation was inevitable.

To be continued…

Xan: ;_____; Cloud is dead. *weeps*

Vallen: Well, it looks like this story is going to be coming to a close… Not right now, but soon. No more than six chapters to go, I'm predicting. I could be wrong. Thank all of you for reading!

Oh, and FF.net doesn't like posting links, so I'm going to try again with the stuff that was cut from last chapter… Copy and paste it. If it doesn't work, put the www's in front.


	10. All's Fair In Love and War

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this. Original characters.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Vallen: Another LONG-ASS chapter ahead! I hope we're not spoiling you…

Xan: see the end of the chapter

Thanks to: Evui (Sorry again! But yes, Roy should really really really burn them, but he can't right now… Maybe later.), Caranril (XD "The true angst comes from waiting for you guys to update" …. I like that. You're funny!), MintyDreams7 (If you knew it all along, you are very smart! gives you an award Unspeakable zombie things… Yummy.), Deity of Sorrow (Thank you very much! Oh, and we're glad someone else mourns Cloud's passing.), pannybaby123 (If you read this and you want to cry.. are we doing a good job? ), Persian Kittie (Never forgive us? Gagh… Oh, and this is in medieval times… Girls were married off at young ages, remember? There was no "legal" age back then.), tikimoof (clapclap Congrats, then, if you knew Trave and Gaimen were coming back! XD Don't worry, we don't describe anything too icky.), RavenGhost (Thank you very much! sniff We liked Cloud too… But sadly, all good things must come to an end.), Crocgirl (XD Yes, they're back and there's nothing you can do about it! Mehehe.), The Owner of TO (blink what does your username stand for? But undead people are so fun!), Ice Prince Marth ( Cool username. And thank you very much for reading faithfully!), LiL PriNCeSs Me (Three chapters in a row? Fun! Well, here's another one for you!), Demon Cat Fury (Are you still grounded? Jeez!), Star Twilight (Hey, a new reviewer! Thanks a bunch for your nice comments and noticing what hard work we put into this!), bladegryphon (sniff I know, it's sad that Cloud's dead, but… Ack, we're really sorry for the wait! We don't mean to kill you!), Raiknii (. Thank you very much for putting us on your Author Alert.), PikaPower (Check at the bottom of this chapter for how to get the link! Thanks for the zombie compliment… We 3 them.), Sinnatious (Characteristically cruel? chuckle I think that's the point, to make it seem even more hopeless than FNOK1… How are the dear boys going to get out of this one? Hope you enjoy the action in this chapter! There's a little bit of magic, but a lot more to come in the finale. Thanks so much!), Rayestar Ikina (Aw, you ended up being the 3rd person to review, but that's okay! Aww… We regret to inform you that there will be no FNOK3.), Jennie (You knew about Gwen and Marth? Wow! Yeah, you're right Roy understands Marth's duties as king…), and Sword Master Jeff (Don't worry, we don't take it the wrong way! We know that we're lazy and we deserve being scolded! Well, if chapter 9 was the best chapter yet, we must work hard to surpass that one!).

"_You_ are not my lover!" Marth's lip curled with utter contempt at the Necromancer who possessed his Roy's body. He drew back from the fray, Roy's blood trickling down Falcion's long length and dripping from the razor-tipped point. Roy had wounded him as well, but it was but a shallow scratch, so he could ignore the red slowly oozing from the wound.

Marth's face became bone-pale, the blood draining from it like rain running down a pane of glass. He knew his body was growing very cold, but he didn't feel it, nor did he see the ice-blue aura that was enveloping him. Icicles formed on Falcion, turning the one blade into many, all razor sharp.

"How dare you return from your rightful place, you scum-sucking, maggot-feeding pile of wretched filth?" Marth hissed at his uncle, all the resentment from years and years of abuse returning tenfold. His sadistic uncle, who had turned the court against him, banished him and Roy from the country and who had abused him for countless years as a child was now back from the dead, a noose still hanging around his neck to bear testament to how he had died.

The true King of Altea bared his teeth, hatred filling his every pore.

"We will send you back to hell."

"_We_?" Roy echoed once he had recovered from being knocked off his horse.

"What makes you say _we_?" He picked himself up from the ground, panting from the energy it took to heave himself up on his feet, with his wound burning ice cold the way it was. He managed a bitter laugh and summoned his powers to regenerate the broken skin on his side.

Gaimen gave Marth a look of pure evil and dismounted, walking over and standing at the younger man's side. He slung a casual arm over the shoulder of the Necromancer in Roy's body.

"I do think it's time for _you_ to see the sights of hell, Marth," He sneered.

"I quite agree." Trave walked over to where Roy and Gaimen were standing and lifted Roy's chin with a skeletal finger to press his decayed lips to Roy's soft-skinned cheek. "He still tastes as good as ever, pretty Pet. But I have a feeling that you knew that, didn't you?"

Bile rose in Marth's throat, causing it to burn from the acidity, but he could not hide his revulsion. Trave, the once-beautiful sadist was now little more than a skeleton held together by ligaments and tendons.

"You make me sick. Even more than you did before." Marth said quietly, his eyes fixated not on Trave's hideous form, but on Gaimen's arm on his lover's shoulder.

With absolutely no warning, Marth spurred the animal beneath him into a breakneck gallop, right towards the monstrous trio. Falcion, the sharp-bladed sword, shone blue as he swung it towards his two resurrected enemies.

"I'll be sure to take you to hell _with_ me!" He drove his sword deep into Gaimen's chest, cleaving a gigantic hole in the zombie-king's dead body.

At first it seemed as if Gaimen was groaning in pain, but then he was laughing. He was laughing loudly and obnoxiously, reaching out to feel the empty space occupying his useless lung cavity.

The auburn-haired general clenched his sword tightly, side-stepping away from Trave subtly.

"You fool. Why do you think I have occupied this body? My zombies can be torn to pieces, but their un-dead flesh lives on, ready for me to put back together again. You must burn them to be rid of them for good, Marth. Did you not think that I would seek to control this body that controls fire?"

He beckoned for Gaimen and Trave to mount their horses once again and did so himself.

"Now, shall we see them in action?" The Necromancer waved one finger, which set the zombie warriors running towards the Altean troops. He maneuvered his horse so that he was watching from the sidelines, a twisted grin upon his face.

"You may think that you've won, but you underestimate me, Necromancer." Marth growled quietly, just barely audible as the Altean troops rushed out to meet the zombie hoards, led by General Hadrian in Roy's stead.

He seized Falcion and swung the blade in a mighty blow, aiming for Roy's chest.

"You should know that I won't hesitate to strike at any foe who stands before me!" Instantly, the Necromancer tightened his legs around the horse and held onto the saddle to prepare for the blow. He took it well, but his torso was forced backwards- the loud crack of a vertebra was heard.

"This body..." He hissed. "Is weak and only useful for it's powers of fire and healing..."

As he spoke, the body began to glow soft orange as it healed itself slowly, a sign that his healing powers were beginning to fade- He had healed one near-fatal wound already.

"Gaimen! Trave! Make yourselves useful! There's an army that is in need of a command, if you hadn't noticed!" Roy growled at his subordinates, forcing them away. He switched the reins into one hand and the other burst into flames. "Now Marth... Let's see how good you are against this fire in the hands of a master mage!"

The blood bay beneath Marth shied away from the fire- this horse wasn't as well trained nor as accustomed to magic as Cloud had been. That put him at yet _another_ disadvantage.

The shrieks of soldiers being wounded and dying and the sharp clank of metal against metal filled the air of the battlefield, but Marth heard nothing, save for his own pulse pounding in his ears, the breathing of the horses and the Necromancer's own snide voice.

Marth's eyes narrowed, studying his opponent. The Necromancer had placed great faith in the knowledge that Marth would have difficulty fighting his lover, but there was his mistake. In Marth's mind, the real Roy would prefer to be dead rather than possessed and forced to be used as a weapon against everything he held dear, king, partner and country. Roy's healing power was dying. Marth knew that it either meant that Roy would die if the battle went on long enough, or that Marth could be killed by sheer vulnerability if the battle ended too quickly. He knew that he had to stall and injure the Necromancer as much as he could or he wouldn't stand a chance.

Not answering the Necromancer's barb, Marth pointed Falcion at the ground near the evil mage's horse. In the flash of an eye, the ground was covered in a thick layer of ice that was rapidly climbing up the legs of the animal itself. The terrified horse tried to buck, but it was frozen in place and all it could do was pitch and toss its head frantically, whinnying shrilly with fright, eyes rolling madly. Within a few seconds, the animal was completely covered and the ice was beginning to climb up the Necromancer's body as well.

By the time the evil mage had time to react- He had been busy trying to calm his horse down and keeping himself from being bucked off- it was too late. His body was glued to the saddle and his torso was quickly becoming fully encased in the ice. Roy's blue eyes flashed dangerously, fire within them, but he could not contain the shivers (and the dark presence of the Necromancer) that controlled his body.

"So... Cold..." Roy whispered, closing his eyes.

The Necromancer took over again.

"Honestly, what kind of game are you playing here? This is just one of the bodies that I have under my control, one of the many you will have to defeat in order to fight me. And you'll probably be dead with your armies defeated by that time," He managed before the ice climbed up his neck and invaded his face. "Ice can melt."

Marth could see that already the ice was starting to sweat from the intense heat that it was covering up, trying to mask and contain. But fire could not be contained for long.

"And fires can be extinguished." Marth slashed at Roy's body, silently asking forgiveness from his frozen lover for what he was doing to him. "The game I'm playing concerns more than you'll ever know. It concerns love, faith and a promise saying that I would always fight for the death for something. Be it my lover, my country or both!"

Roy's blood sprayed out from between the cracks in the ice that Falcion had made, tiny geysers of crimson from a silver shell. "Even if I have to die to reclaim all that or to keep my promise, I will _never_ surrender to you."

The frozen figure of the general on the horse began tremble and shake, the air around it growing hotter and hotter. The temperature rose until there was a loud explosion - Chunks of raw flesh splattered everywhere, with puddles of blood mixed with ice on the ground. Marth was covered in it, his face painted red.

Roy was laying facedown, panting wildly with the effort it took to explode the ice casing. The veins in his neck jumped and he clenched his fist, forcing his sluggish healing powers to work. He growled menacingly and jerked his head up to stare at Marth, blood trickling from his forehead and down his face. The general picked up his sword and hauled himself up.

"You want to fight to the death? Well, let's do it."

Marth tasted Roy's blood on his lips, ignoring the conflicting emotions that the salty metallic tang brought forth from inside of him.

"Let's, Necromancer."

Falcion hummed in his hands, a testament to the sword's power as he swung the enchanted blade towards his enemy, aiming for Roy's already injured abdomen.

The Necromancer found that the body was quite cold and refused to work at the fast pace he wanted to push it to, but he managed to bring up his sword and block what might have been the fatal blow.

"For once, I tire of playing the defense."

He dug in and attacked, whirling his own blade as fast and as skillfully as he could. The dark mage's style of fighting was quite different than Roy's hard and heavy approach. He had a style that surpassed Marth's own.

A growl formed in Marth's throat and he blocked the Necromancer's sleek attack, just barely registering the ominous man's intent before it was too late. The Necromancer had shifted tactics abruptly, from pure magic versus magic to the subtle art of swordplay. But Marth had been an expert swordsman long before he had been a mage, so he was fairly confident on this playing field, even if the Necromancer's technique was more advanced.

Using his magic, he willed Falcion to bend like a snake and wrap itself around the Necromancer's own blade the next time they came into contact. He forced the other down, he and the Necromancer looking eye to eye.

The master of the dead grunted and tried to wrench his sword from the tight hold.

"I'm beginning to dislike this body..." He growled, starting to twist the blade in an effort to dislodge it. "It is weak and smaller than yours... Which is my disadvantage that you have chosen to use against me."

He jumped away, dropping his sword after seeing that it was useless to recover it from Marth. After tapping into his powers, he began to reach into Marth's mind.

"Your friend did not bother to learn how to shield his mind from other outside magic. How about you, young mage?"

Marth slammed his mental shields down as hard as he could, but it wasn't fast enough to block the Necromancer's black-tendriled probe that was snaking deep into the inner recesses of his mind.

He was paralyzed where he stood, the alien feeling of a dark force invading him.

'_STOP_!' He screamed, trying to force the Necromancer out. He saw visions, Roy dead, Cloud dead, Gwen's pale face as he asked her to bear his child and during what happened after. Gaimen hanging dead in the noose, and then winking up at him with an evil smirk.

'_Get out, you demon_!'

'_Demon? Who, me? I'm merely a mage much like yourself. So that makes you a demon and Roy a demon? Oh yes, and the coward Rowen Wyndburne too. Your entire mind is at my disposal... What shall I do with it, Your Highness?'_

Roy stepped closer, a little wobbly because of the extensive damage that he had suffered. The dark, sinister light in his eyes glowed even brighter than before.

'_Give up your powers to me and it will all end. No more blood, no more fighting... The countries will all be united under one, single power and there will be peace.'_

The words, intended by the Necromancer to be soothing, convincing only inflamed Marth's rebellious icy spirit even more.

_'If you think that I'm going to surrender my powers or my country to a wretch like you, then your mind reading powers are severely decayed!'_

Marth formed a long spear of ice and swung it at the Necromancer's head, watching as ice connected with skull with a loud _crack_.

"Well done..." The dark mage rasped. "The best way to get rid... of a problem... is to go to... the source..." His knees buckled and he fell to the bloody ground. It didn't look like he was going to get up any time soon.

Marth stood back, panting from the effort that it had taken to keep the Necromancer from raping his mind. The ice spear remained in his hand, blood still spattered on it. He hurled it into the back of a zombie soldier who had been near him, causing the corpse to be disabled at least temporarily. His eyes turned to Roy's body lying motionless on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Roy..." He lifted his partner up and called his horse, climbing on and holding Roy in front of him.

'_Rowen, meet me when I return. I've got Roy_.' He thought to his mentor, riding swiftly to the castle.

Hoards of zombies surged after Marth, but the horse was faster. Once the King got past his first line of defense, he was home free to the castle. The gates opened for him and there was Rowen, dressed in dark, neutral-colored robes.

"Rowen, I need your help..." Marth slid off the horse, pulling Roy's lifeless body with him. "I don't know what to do with him..."

"Don't worry about it," Rowen answered quickly in a flat voice, taking Roy easily in his arms. He frowned and felt the young general's body temperature. "Just do what you have to do and I'll take care of him."

The old mage took Roy's hand and concentrated, creating a medium-sized fire when he combined the fire mage's power with his own. He set Roy down next to it and began to work.

"Have to... have.. to..." Roy mumbled, his bloodstained lips moving just barely.

"C'mon Boy, snap out of it. I know you can..."

Roy's eyes opened slowly, his head spinning dangerously, and he rolled over onto his side to throw up what was left in his stomach. He barely felt Rowen's cool hand upon his brow, and the magic that was exchanged.

"The Necromancer will not control your mind again..." The weather mage said quietly, leaving Roy to sort himself out.

The auburn-haired young man stared at the fire, reaching out and touching it.

"Have to tell Marth..."

The King of Altea was standing off to the side, feeling helpless and unable to help his lover. He possessed no skill of healing, not even marginally and was not as experienced in the transfer of magic energies as Rowen was. But the sound of Roy saying his name again, even faintly was enough to give him hope again.

"What is it Roy? What do you have to tell me?" He asked, crouching down beside the fire, looking into Roy's face.

Roy stared right through Marth, his lower lip trembling.

"They... Trave, Gaimen... They're here... I have to tell him... And... I have to tell him that I love him..."

Marth felt his heart break and he reached out to touch Roy's face with a calloused hand.

"I'm right here, Roy."

Roy's shoulders shook, but he did not cry.

"I'm so sorry... I... I knew this was going to happen, but all I could think of was getting you back to the castle..."

"Roy, it's all right..." Marth moved so that his arm was around Roy's shoulders. "He's gone for now. You and I can fight together like we're meant to, not against each other."

The general trembled, overwhelmed with fatigue and did not answer. He was tired of fighting, but did not want to admit it. Rowen glanced over at Marth from above, coughing to get his attention.

"Maybe you should both get inside..."

Marth nodded, glancing over at Roy.

"I think that's a very good idea right now." He didn't realize that he was tired as well and bleeding from numerous wounds, though luckily not as serious as Roy's had been.

He picked Roy up. "Roy, just relax. I'm going to take you somewhere to rest." The king carried his general out of the infirmary and into the castle, taking him up to Roy's own room. Hopefully the familiar surroundings would help Roy recover from his ordeal. Marth placed Roy in his bed and kissed his forehead.

"You don't ha-have to patronize me, Marth..." Roy groaned hoarsely, pressing a sheet to one of his larger wounds. He was already staining the bed, and with his powers the way they were, he could not heal himself as quickly. "I shouldn't be in bed... My men... they're dying... And you, you're hurt..."

Marth retrieved the extra bandages that Roy kept in his quarters in case of an emergency and began to dress the wound skillfully.

"The best thing that you could do right now is rest, Roy. You can't lead the men in this shape, even if you weren't dead tired. And my wounds aren't that bad - I can get someone else to bandage them, it's alright."

The general sat up, pushing himself up against the headboard with his eyes downcast.

"If you go, I go," he stated firmly. "I would follow you to the end of the world and back if it meant protecting you at all costs."

Marth reached out a hand to touch Roy's face, forcing his partner to look up at him.

"Alright, Roy. I don't want to fight without you at my side."

Roy's throat constricted and he tried to keep down the rising lump in his throat. He leaned forward so that he was embracing his ruler as tightly as he could.

"I don't want to lose you..."

There was a series of sharp knocks at the door and the general pulled away abruptly with a loud groan. He rolled over onto his non-injured side, panting heavily. Whoever it was could not see him like this...

"Come in..." He rasped loudly.

To his surprise, a couple of his higher ranked officials strode in, looking worried. The battlefield was more treacherous than they had thought- That coupled with the scare of having to fight the undead was enough to shake a man out of his boots.

"Please forgive our intrusion, Your Highness... General, we regret to inform you that General Hadrian has perished in battle," the more composed of the two said, stuttering a little.

Roy's eyes widened, and he stared down at the floor again with his mind racing faster than any horse.

"Call everyone to retreat back towards the city. I have an idea."

The king of Altea's blue eyes darted from his general to the subordinates. Hadrian dead... he didn't feel as if he could take any more bad news. But Roy's statement made his brows knit with curiosity. What did Roy have in mind now? He knew that his lover was a brilliant general and he now hoped that the auburn-haired teen had an idea that would somehow miraculously turn the battle to their favor.

"What's in your head, Roy?"

Roy took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He supported himself by keeping a hand on one of the four posts that made up his bed.

"Now that I'm back, I have to regroup with my men... They need to know what I know about the army we're up against. But I can't have them retreat to the castle and leave our territory unguarded. This will take a great deal of magic on our part, but it will buy us time if it works. Your Highness, once all the soldiers are within the city gates, you must create a ring of ice around the entire city. Then I will make a ring of fire on the outside of that. The ice will protect the city inwardly and the fire will protect the city outwardly because the zombies cannot pass it without getting burned."

"Roy, do you have the strength to _make_ a wall that size, much less maintain it?" Marth wasn't criticizing Roy's plan - indeed he thought it to be a very good one - but he was concerned for his general's physical well being. "I'm game for it, but I don't want you to kill yourself doing this. If you deplete your magical power, it draws directly from your life-force, remember?"

"I'm not out to kill myself, unlike Mr. Martyr here," the general stared straight past Marth to his two men. He felt hypocritical giving orders from his bedside, but that was the best he could do at the time. "What are you waiting for? Do as I say!"

The soldiers picked up their feet and scurried out the door. There was a loud creak a moment later as Rowen stood in the doorway, silent.

Marth found that he couldn't look his old master in the eye, even though he wasn't quite sure what the reason was. He bowed his head, shifting to face Roy and not the door.

"Hello Rowen."

Rowen stepped inside and shut the door quietly. He glanced at Marth for a moment, and then eyed Roy. His face was more serious than they had ever seen it before.

"I heard your plan and think it's the best thing we can do right now. You need to get up to the tallest tower and perform the spells from there," He stated. "I also will be accompanying Roy."

The general felt the back of his neck prickle and burn with embarrassment.

"I don't need anyone's help, Rowen!"

The amethyst color of the weather mage's eyes grew darker.

"I don't think you could walk a few paces from that bed if you tried. Stop being so defensive. I did shield your mind, but that doesn't mean that you have to shield your emotions as well."

Roy looked away, glaring at the floor.

Wisely, Marth decided to step between the two easily angered men before tempers flared and the situation somehow became worse.

"...Roy, Rowen's idea is wise. If we're going to put this plan into action, we need to do it soon before the Necromancer does something else even worse." He paused and looked at Rowen. "Rowen, how much lightning are you able to conjure?"

"Oh, as much as you need me to," Rowen responded casually, going over to Roy and helping him to his feet. The young general was stubborn, but did not refuse the support.

Eyes narrowed thoughtfully, Marth chewed on a fingernail.

"If you could summon all the lightning you could and send it down to strike all the zombies, you could set quite a few of them on fire and make the odds at least a little less stacked against us."

"That's not a bad idea," Rowen answered. The three of them exited the room quickly and hurried up the winding stairs to the tallest tower. Their feet made hollow, scraping sounds against the stones, but it was nothing compared to the noises of war beyond the castle. Once they were at the highest point, they stood out on the balcony and surveyed the land.

The Altean army was being crushed, but they were retreating as per Roy's orders. Meanwhile, the zombie army was following them as they retreated further and further.

"Rowen, strike all the zombies near the main gates. We can't let any of them get in." Roy's voice was hard and tight, but his heart pounded as he watched his men dash inside the protecting walls of the castle. The people screamed and cried out in surprise, but made room for the Altean forces. A loud crack sounded through the air as Rowen let go of the general and raised his hands to the air.

Energy began to crackle through the air and a fierce wind blew all around the older mage, causing his hair and robes to move about. Down below, lightning struck the undead soldiers, stopping them from entering the gates, which closed with a loud boom.

"There... Marth and Roy, go ahead." The weather mage only looked a little exhausted as he moved to the side.

Marth closed his eyes and gathered the power from all around... the air, the earth, the sky... All of nature held magic that could be tapped into, as long as you didn't go too deep and try to harness too much. Usually Marth tried to rely on his own inner power, but he figured that since the Necromancer was destroying the land as well as the people, it would be fine just this once.

Fingertips glowing a shade of blue somewhere between royal and ice and eyes blazing the same color, Marth raised his hands above his head and traced a large circle.

'_Work, damn you... I command you to do as I say..._' He ordered the magic. And the magic obeyed.

Slowly, a ring of ice formed around the entire city, about sixty feet from the outer wall. It grew slowly, rising from the earth, a milky translucent barricade stretching six men high. The side facing the city was covered in icicle spikes, long enough and sharp enough to impale any man foolish enough to try to get through the barrier. In contrast, the outward side was as smooth and slick as glass, absolutely impenetrable and impossible to climb. While Marth was sure that it wouldn't stop them forever, it would hopefully deter them, along with Roy's wall of fire.

Roy leaned over the edge and surveyed Marth's work. It was excellent... He could only hope to make something as perfect as that. Using that bit of competitiveness to fuel him, he took a deep breath and reached inside of himself. The young general found the fire that burned brightly and brought it out for all to see.

"Step back! I don't want to burn you!" He yelled before his violent brand of magic unleashed itself, enveloping his body and extending towards the wall.

Now Roy had always found it easy to start a fire, but once it got going... It took most of his energy to try and control it. He knew his body was covered in flames, the scorching tongues licking up his perspiration and anxious for more energy... Which he readily gave, now concentrating on the wall he was about to build. As quickly as Rowen's lightning struck the enemies did Roy's wall leap up to unimaginable heights, burning ferociously. But it was out of control, spreading in ways he couldn't have foreseen. It spread inward, attacking the wall of ice.

A hand was at the back of his neck and he felt a burst of power, clearing his mind.

"You're not done yet." Rowen's voice brought him out of his fiery cocoon. The older mage ignored his skin being scorched by Roy's fiery body.

"A-Ah..." Roy gasped in acknowledgement, narrowing his eyes. He let out a loud yell and brought the fire to a neat halt, enclosing it in a ring like he had set out to do. The general blacked out for a second, and opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the fire-scorched ground. He let go of the fire within him, his task done for the moment.

Marth leaned down and placed a cool hand on Roy's fiery hot cheek.

"Very well done... Both those barriers will be sure to impede them, at least for a little while. That was an excellent plan, Roy." He paused. "Now we can't do anything but wait until Gaimen, Trave and the Necromancer make their next move."

"Don't say those names." Roy struggled to his feet and leaned heavily against the wall. He held a hand to the wound in his side, as if he was trying to shove the pain back inside his body and tried to reassure himself that it was only temporary until his healing powers were restored. "I've had enough of dealing with them and I don't wish to think about them any longer!"

He stopped, biting his lip nervously. It seemed that all he had been doing was snapping at Marth- And after all the King had gone through to rescue him, it hardly seemed fair.

Roy's harsh words slid off the protective layer that surrounded Marth's heart. Yes, it was still there - a few years wouldn't be able to erase a lifetime of abuse, but it had been chipped away at by Rowen, Gwen, and most importantly by Roy, although there was enough left to safeguard it from the general's stinging comments.

"We have to think of them since they're our enemies. I'll be down in my study, trying to think of more strategies." With that, he turned and left.

The general felt like crying right then. He felt like flinging himself over the edge, down back to the enemy where it had been less painful. The pain had been nonexistent when they had been on opposite sides. He stood up and looked downwards... Hopefully Marth was friendlier than the ground.

"I'm going to take charge of the army before I fall over," He told Rowen, and then limped off.

The emotions that flooded within him were too much to bear, and yet he did not feel like closing them off. It kept him sane and reminded him of all the hard work Marth went through to free his mind. In the end, was it all worth it? Did they come this far to have the Necromancer suddenly show up and sweep them all off their feet?

Some questions just aren't worth answering.

_'Roy... Come down to me._' Marth called to his partner softly, sensing Roy's pain and hurt. He was hurting too, deep inside. Hurting from the long separation, still hurting from the loss of Cloud, everything that he was putting Rowen and Gwen through, the loss of his peoples' lives... Everything. He _needed_ Roy right now. He needed the fiery touch... Roy's common sense... '_Lover... Come to me please... I need you right now_.'

They were ready for battle. They now knew what they were really up against. They knew they were probably going to die. That didn't settle too well in Roy's stomach and he had even stopped to hurl what little was in his stomach in some bushes on his way back to the castle. The whole affair with his army- having to explain where he had been and what he had been doing, then briefing them on the battle to come- had taken over an hour. He stayed until one of his lesser commanders suggested that he go back inside to rest.

Out of habit he went straight to his room first, ignoring Marth's call. Then he poked his head out of the room to make sure no one was watching, and crept as quietly as he could to Marth's chambers. After shutting the door quietly, the young general stood there on wavering balance as if waiting for permission to approach any further.

Marth was sitting in a chair, his legs dangling over one arm. He was staring out the window, his hair falling into his face and to his shoulders, unhampered by the coronet that was sitting on the table beside him. Snow was falling outside, but just for this window. The snow calmed him down, made him feel more relaxed. He probably shouldn't have wasted his power on it, but what good is magic if you couldn't indulge yourself just a little?

He was perfectly aware that Roy was waiting for a sign, so he gave one, shifting in his seat to look over at his general.

"Come in," he called softly.

The King was tired. He had been pushing his body to every physical and magical limit; riding back and forth all over his country, building walls, grieving, battling... It felt as if it would never end. He wondered if Roy would understand- if Roy _could_ understand... all that he had gone through while the younger man had been under the nefarious influence of the Necromancer. But Marth would never give up, would never allow his spirit to fold under and yield to evil. He would not be defeated.

"This is it, Marth..." Roy rasped hoarsely. He took a step closer, and then faltered. His legs were frozen to the spot, horrified at the thoughts in his head. "I was with them... I saw what they wanted to do to us... I saw the end..."

"Roy..." Marth got out of the chair and went to the young general, holding Roy's wrists gently. He touched Roy's face, feeling the heat radiating from the skin. Something... these thoughts had truly disturbed him.

"Show me what you saw." Marth ordered quietly.

The general's eyes widened.

"No, I can't... I don't want it to happen that way. I don't want you to..." He leaned forward and repositioned Marth's hands so that they were wrapped loosely around his waist. "You saved me, but now we have to fight no matter what. For once in my life, I don't want to lead the battle. I have no words of encouragement for my men and they can see right through me..."

His hands tightened a little on Roy's waist in a comforting sort of gesture and he looked down into his general's eyes, seeing the fear there and saddened by it.

"...I will lead the soldiers to battle."

"No! I can't let you go out there alone! What if He shows up? You're not up to your full strength either- What if he challenges you? What if you lose?" Roy let out a soft, short moan as he closed the short distance between their bodies, burying his face in Marth's shoulder. He was drowning in a world of _What if_s.

A gentle hand on Roy's soft hair reassured the general, or at least Marth hoped so. He stroked the silky blood-colored tresses, wanting to calm Roy's fears, although they coincided with his own.

"Roy... Roy, don't be afraid - I'm not. I believe that if we remain strong together, we can win this. I won't leave you, Roy. I love you too much to ever leave you."

"I wish that was enough."

By that time, words had long escaped Roy's lips and he just stood there, rocking slightly in a soothing motion with the young king. Exhaustion caught up with him and he fell asleep on his feet.

Marth picked up Roy gently, cradling his younger partner in his arms as he walked over to his bed and set the general in it. He hadn't gotten the chance to tell Roy about Gwen or Cloud for that matter, but this was fine - Roy was tired and needed the sleep. He sat on the bed with him, Roy's head leaning against his thigh and stroked his hair and face tenderly.

"I wish it were enough too."

Author's Note:

Vallen: Okay, this is it.. This is the LAST time I'm going to try to get the link to you. Go to our yahoo group (the link is on our profile) and find a message called "Don't know why…" posted by me. The link is in there, I promise! It wasn't really worth the hassle, but hey… Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! This one was another long one 11 pages!

Xan: is currently…

Vallen: ; I have no idea where Xan is right now. She disappeared off the face of the earth and didn't tell me.


	11. Reminiscent of Death

**Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn  
**Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this. Original characters.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan: bows repeatedly So sorry that this is out sooo late! It's also kinda short, but it's a VERY important chapter, as you'll soon see... By the way, the thank you's were done by me this time.  
  
Vallen: First of all, I would like to apologize for the huge wait that you guys endured. We hope you enjoy this chapter as well.  
  
Thank you to: Jennie (;; Aw, obsess over it for days? That's so cool!! We have dedicated fans!), Ice Prince Marth (…I can't tell you how horrible I felt after I killed Cloud. I practically went to a confessional and did the whole "Father forgive me for I have sinned… I have killed the horse in one of my stories." And then the priest went, "Xan, you're going right to hell." ;; It was pretty much what I had expected.), Persian Kittie (Heh… They're both getting abused!! Don't play favorites! And I'm going to eat you anyways, biznatch. Gr.), Dragon and Sword Master (;; Well, at the rate we're going, you may actually have to wait until the end of time! But hopefully, our writing style will stay the same, or even better, improve! Please keep reading!), Felik (Nope, no dead Roy! Horray!), RavenGhost (;; We're updating, we're updating! But thanks for reading!), Zenah (Sorry this is so late but hopefully you'll like it too!), Pannybaby123 (I feel bad for the horses too… I'm going right to hell for that, I know it. But glad you think we're doing great!), Crocgirl13 (Yep, Roy's back! much cheering and rejoicing), Rayestar Ikina (;; LotR fanfiction? I could possibly be talked into it, but Vallen's anti-LotR, so probably not. Nope, no FNOK3, but hopefully there will be other stories, although they may not feature Marth and Roy. We hope you'll read them though!), PikaPower ( glad you liked it!), Caranril (huggles them both and tells them everything'll be okay ;; Hopefully it will be, but who knows?), Demon Cat Fury (Sorry to hear that you're grounded! Trust me, I know how that is. But don't worry, being on a houseboat isn't that bad! And don't worry, you can ALWAYS find a way to love something more!), Deity of Sorrow (is in mourning for Cloud TT So sad, but we're glad you liked!), MintyDreams7 (We loved the shields! I thought they were especially cool myself!), Evui (XD lemony-fresh, that made me laugh! Yeah… we wrote it a long time ago and looking back, it could be MUCH more intense. ;; Maybe we should revise it. And yes, the Necromancer is bad! EEEEVIL!), Sinnatious (Oh man, don't tell us that FNOK should be its own genre or it'll really go to our heads. We did try to convey the fatigue and exhaustion that the characters feel into the writing, so it's nice to hear that it worked! Marth is such a better person than I would be in his situation. ;; Anyways, I'm back now… I exist! And hopefully in wrapping this up, our writing will stay consistently up to standard!), Alexandrayea Nightblood (Oh good! It's so great to hear that people are spreading the word about FNOK! Please keep checking back for our work!), Pichu Star (Hooray for no more school! It's always a great feeling. TT Unfortunately, this has taken so long to get out that school STARTS for me in two weeks. sob ;; And about Marth being willing to beat the snot out of Roy… he's a very goal-oriented guy. He doesn't care what it takes, just as long as it gets him to where he needs to be.), Jeana and Annie (XD We're senseis!! That's the most awesome thing ever!! Great Teacher Xan and Great Teacher Vallen – the fic masters!! ;; Sorry, I'm way too amused. Thanks for liking our work!), Smoky (;; yes, about the lime… It was written long ago and could definitely use some citrus-ing up. But until we get around to editing the fic sometime in the future, y'all are just gonna have to use your vivid imaginations. ;; And yes, the zombies were gross, but what can we say? A little gore is fun to write now and then.), Nikki J. ( Hey Vallen, we have a sidekick! That's too cool! ;; and no worries, you are definitely not the only Trave and Gaimen fan), Trigadon (Cowsome… Moo! ;; Sorry, I'm somewhat hyper. ;; sorry the update is so late, but I hope you like it anyways), Of Fate and Destiny (Cool handle, by the way. Glad you liked!), Powrpuffchik (;; Hey I'm back now!! But thanks, we love writing together and we're glad y'all like it too! And thanks for the support – sometimes it's really needed!), lilshaun05 (As a matter of fact, our work does have its own site! if you wanna go!! Stuff still needs to be uploaded, but there it is. Sorry, no FNOK3 though!), Lionheart (Yes, we're quite dedicated to our Marth/Roy! And that's exactly how this started – we were playing SSBM and we thought "Hey, this is great! Marth/Roy, whee!" And yeah, the snapshot function is… ahem… fun. Glad you liked it and nononono, this is not a dead fic!! Just neglected since we don't live together anymore!! But we still get an update out when we can!)

Prick. Prick. Prick.

What felt like a sharp needle was pricking at Marth's mind, a blade of malice and ill will. The King of Altea stirred slightly, his fingers tightening around blankets, coming into contact with warm flesh.  
  
Warm flesh? Marth's eyes opened and he found himself lying with Roy curled tightly against his body, his own arm draped across the general's chest. Roy was still fast asleep.

Marth kissed his lover's shoulder and then throat lightly, his lips as gentle and soft as winter snowflakes. He gazed upon Roy, his fingers petting Roy's silken-flame hair and caressing the smooth face. If anything happened to Roy… Marth traced Roy's soft lips with a thumb. He would never be able to bear it.

But something was calling Marth. He could feel it tugging at him. He could not stay here and abandon his duty, no matter how much he desired.

Carefully, so not to rouse Roy, Marth extricated himself from the bed and quietly pulled on his full battle armor, piece by piece. Falcion was sheathed at his side, gleaming and ready for combat. Marth walked over to the bed, looking down upon Roy once more.

"I'll see you on the battlefield, Roy." He whispered, kissing Roy. And then he was gone. 

* * *

When you fall asleep with the person you love, you expect them to be there when you wake. Roy opened his eyes to the bloodcurdling sights and screams of war. He jumped out of bed, remembering the conversation with Marth last night, and ran to the window.

"_Marth_!" He screamed but his voice was lost in the wind. Frantically, he ran around and dressed himself, grabbing his sword. The King of Altea could be anywhere by now, or even dead. He flung the door open and his heart stopped… then the blood started to roar in his ears. It was a miracle he could hear Trave and Gaimen, the disgusting zombie pair, greet him there.

He barely had time to draw his sword and block against Gaimen's swift blow. But he was no child now. Gaimen would not knock him around like before… but Trave being there certainly put a different spin on things. The former slave-owner was not the greatest warrior, but he could definitely cause problems.

"You were sent to keep me out of the way, weren't you?" Roy snarled, shaking with anger.

"How _ever_ did you guess?" Trave answered, smiling with a gaping grin.

"Tell me what he's doing to Marth or I'll burn your carcasses to ashes right here and now!"  
It was Gaimen's turn to grin along with Trave.

"You can't. For one, you don't have to strength to do it and two, we're both protected from your magic by our master," he sneered.

The general's eyes narrowed deeply. Now there was absolutely no way for the zombie servants to be destroyed, unless he found a lantern or found another solution. Highly unlikely.

"Then I guess I'll have to hack at your bodies till there's nothing left!"  
  
"Just try it, boy. Your sword is as useless as a needle against a pair of dragons." Trave smirked, swinging his sword at Roy's head. Roy ducked, only to be hit from behind by the flat of Gaimen's broadsword slamming into his back. He fell forward, but caught himself with his hands, just in time to catch a glimpse of Trave's sword coming straight at him. Roy dove out of the way, rolling on the floor and springing acrobatically back up to his feet.

"Enough of this!" He growled, hacking at Trave furiously, knocking away the former slave-owner's sword, with decaying hands still attached.

"Bad Pet. Gaimen told me that you were a _good_ fighter. You're disappointing me."

To Roy's horror, Trave's hands were raised from the ground as if by strings and flew back to rejoin their respective wrists.

"I told you his bark was worse than his bite… the little bitch." Gaimen sneered.

A whip appeared in Trave's rotting talons and writhed through the air with a sharp snap, curling tightly around Roy's throat. The general gagged and tried to cut the whip with his sword so that he could breathe again. But Gaimen ripped the blade out of Roy's hand, claiming it for himself.

"Ah yes… This is the blade you beat me with. Oh that was so long ago, wasn't it Roy? Of course, it doesn't seem so long to me, considering I've been dead for most of the times." Gaimen looked down at Roy's choking face and stroked it with decaying fingers. "Pity we never got to play while I was alive. But Master is playing with your lover right now."

Roy spat at the grotesque hand, jerking his head away. But that only seemed to make the leather wrapped around his neck coil tighter.

"Give me… back my sword, you dog…" Roy choked, clawing at the whip.

Trave chuckled, yanking Roy to the floor.

"Yes, quite a pity, Gaimen. They were both wonderful. I had such a lovely time with the two of them until I was so lovingly choked to death."

"… And that's what you intend to do to me?" the general gasped.

"Yes…" Gaimen hissed, "But not before we have our fun."

Roy watched as Trave knelt down and began to undo his armor with nimble bony fingers. The whip around his neck had been dropped, but a sharp elbow was now digging into his neck. He was weak, his body burning for oxygen. The slimy feel of undead hands on his own skin was the last thing he felt before the black spots erupting in front of his eyes turned into pitch-black unconsciousness.

* * *

"Gwen, hurry… You must hurry…" Rowen grabbed the young servant girl's hand, pulling her down the winding staircase faster.

"Sir Rowen… What about the king?" Gwen questioned breathlessly.

The pair stopped and Rowen put both his hands upon her shoulders, staring into her eyes.

"Girl… For once, think of yourself instead of others. The child you now carry is the only hope for this country if we get out of his alive," he said, his voice containing all the seriousness in the world.

They moved on, going further and further into the depths of the castle. The weather mage handed Gwen a sword and hid her in a dark corner.

"It anyone approaches you, call for me with your mind. I will come."

Gwen sat down on the ground, hugging her knees with one hand and holding the sword in her other.

"Yes, sir… Be careful, please."

* * *

The battlefield was little more than a sea of blood, fire, the corpses of Altean soldiers and also those of the zombies too mangled to revive themselves yet another time. Soldiers dying from mortal wounds cried and stretched out their hands to the gods, to Marth, to anyone who may be able to offer them salvation. Marth ignored their pleading and ran past them through the ocean of death. He couldn't help them now- no one could.

A black cloak billowing in the wind over the red field caught Marth's keen eye. The Necromancer stood on the rise of a small hill, surveying the carnage below; a demonstration of the glory of his power. The smirk on his lips conveyed such arrogance, such sickening pride that Marth felt his cold blood boil.

"I will kill you this time," hissed the king as he made his presence known to the Necromancer by launching a barrage of icicles at the evil mage.

Marth's opponent merely raised a hand and created a shield to deflect the ice easily. He bowed his head, consumed by cruel laughter, before lifting it again and giving the king a level stare with his eyes shrouded in the shadow of his cloak.

"You've come to attempt a coup de grace of sorts?"

"I've come to destroy you. There is no attempting in my plan," snarled Marth. He readied himself to attack again and reached deep within himself to his core, where his magic power resided.

"Wait…" The dark mage faltered for a split-second. "There's something different about you now. I sense… more power!" His body stiffened and his fists clenched at his sides.

"It's because I've discovered something, Necromancer. I've kept my emotions under the ice for so long that I've forgotten how powerful they can be." Ice blue flames enveloped Marth's body. "You've woken them up, but you won't live to regret it. Not for long."

"It doesn't matter to me – I am the most powerful mage in the world and there is no way you can dent my success here. Your backwards little country and everything in it will be mine, after your dead." The Necromancer drew his sword, crackling with dark energy.

The Ice Mage did not respond to the threat and merely touched his fire-in-ice stone around his neck. For Roy. For Gwen. For Rowen. For his country. And finally, for himself. He was going to kill the Necromancer right here and now for all of them. The blue flames jumped higher and raced along the ground to explode at the enemy's feet.

* * *

He ran as fast as his legs would take him, leaving behind the bits and pieces of zombie flesh that had once been Trave and Gaimen. His entire body ached, reeked, and felt of the slime from their fingers, but his mind was focused solely on Marth.

'_He's going to do something foolish… I know it! Marth, **don't!**_'

Roy remembered regaining consciousness suddenly and grabbing the sword from Gaimen's scabbard. The two zombies, caught off-guard while trying to relive their bodily pleasures, were ripped to shreds until they were no more than chunks of rotten flesh scattered on the wall. It would be an amazing thing to see them try to pull themselves back together now.

He ran through the battlefield, his sword out and ready. He felt Marth's presence- this was the path that his partner had taken! The general felt the ground rumble, the source not too far away from his current position…

* * *

_'Never use more energy than you can afford to lose.' _Rowen's voice echoed in Marth's head_. 'If you exhaust your magical powers, you'll start draining directly from your own life force.'_

Marth tried not to think about that as he threw himself at the Necromancer. If he was going to defeat his enemy, he couldn't allow himself to be inhibited by anything, even the fear of death. Mustering all the strength that remained in his weary body, Marth gathered all the power in his body. He felt his hands become cold, colder than any ice as they blazed that particular combination of ice and royal blue that signified his magical powers. He ran towards the Necromancer, preparing a huge ball of energy between his hands. This time, he would kill the Necromancer, no matter what.

_'No matter what, Marth? My, that is quite a tall order. I'm ready._' The darkest mage braced himself, gauging how much energy Marth held in his hands. _'You have gotten more powerful, but it will take more than that. Come on, give it to me._'

Marth's face was utterly grim as he threw the glowing, crackling sphere at his enemy. The power hit the Necromancer directly in the face and chest and then exploded with a gigantic blast of blinding blue light. He stood back, panting slightly, but his hands continued to blaze, just in case the initial hit had not finished the job.

It hadn't, but the Necromancer's cloak had been blown to shreds. Gone was the enigmatic hood, revealing a shock of long blonde hair blowing in the wind. At last Marth could see the beautiful face of his enemy; the snarling lips, arched eyebrows, and blazing purple eyes.

"Nicely done," He said. "But what do you intend to do now? You've used all your energy for nothing. I gave you my offer to join me in my conquest, yet you refused. How are you enjoying your choice?"

"You'll find that I'm not out of options yet... Necromancer..."

Although Marth was swaying unsteadily on his feet, he managed to take a few faltering steps towards the Necromancer. His face was littered with bleeding cuts from the blast, but the determination in his darkened eyes and clenched jaw made him a fearsome sight despite his weakness. No... not yet... he was not done yet... he would not give up now...

_'I will not give up until you are destroyed!'_ Screamed the young King. He seized the Necromancer's face, holding it tightly between his two glowing, bloodstained hands. All the power he possessed was poured into the Necromancer, burning the Necromancer's mind and destroying him from the inside out. Marth felt his knees become weak as his life-force was drained from him.

_'Roy... Forgive me...' _

Marth screamed as he closed his eyes and forced every speck of energy within his soul to be forced into the corrupted mind of the Necromancer. There was another explosion at least five times as large as the first and a violent blaze of blue.

* * *

Roy stopped in his tracks, falling down to his knees as he felt his soul being ripped from him. The wave of the explosion rocked him back, forcing him to lie sprawled on the bloody ground. He couldn't get up. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a trace of Marth… anywhere. His vision blurred and the tears that wouldn't stop coming soon blinded him. There was nothing left now.

'_Marth, you… You can't do this to me. I could have protected you…' _He thought to the spirit of his lover.

"He failed," came a dry cackle behind him.

Roy turned his head slowly, looking at a version of the dark mage he hadn't seen before.

Gone was the image of youth and vitality, replaced with old skin hanging off ancient bones. He looked like one of the zombies themselves, his sunken purple eyes staring out at Roy from their sockets. The Necromancer stood a few feet away from Roy, holding up the fire-in-ice stone.  
  
"He left you a present." He threw it at Roy.

The general was too broken to move, so he stared at the stone with dull eyes as it sailed through the air to land on his chest with a soft plunk. It was insignificant compared to the pain he was feeling inside. The stone glowed fiercely, emitting a bright light that cleared Roy's vision and dried his tears.

"Now to finish you off like I should have done a long time ago," the dark mage croaked, raising his frail, bone-thin hands to collect energy, but nothing happened. No power began to form in his grasp. "What?!"

Roy slowly got to his feet, staring at the ground with a faraway look in his eyes. He clenched the stone in one hand and his sword in the other. He took slow steps towards the man who had been responsible for Marth's death.

A look of true panic crossed the Necromancer's aged face. Without his magic, his true age was revealed and he was powerless. He tried to lift his own sword, but found that he was too weak to even hold it up. Marth hadn't failed. The young king had killed the magic-wielding Necromancer, leaving behind the shell of a weak, old man.

Roy wordlessly thrust his sword into the ancient man's chest, jerked it downward, then upward, with the vicious strength of a silent, night predator. Black blood spurted from the huge, monstrous, gaping wound and the body fell over once Roy shook his sword free of its victim. He cleaned his sword with the edge of his tunic and walked away, numb to the bone.

He found his way to the epicenter of the explosion and collapsed, holding the stone to his face and sobbing brokenly. At the top of the hill, you could see everything. All the destruction, all the death… With the Necromancer dead, there was nothing left to fuel the undead soldiers, so they had collapsed the moment his powers had been ripped away. The few remaining Altean soldiers silently gathered themselves and stood in the battlefield, collecting themselves. With the fight over, the castle gates opened and the survivors were let out. The castle still stood, a little worse for the wear, but retained its regal appearance.

A familiar voice shook Roy out of his shock when Rowen knelt down next to him and wrapped his arms around the young man.

"I tried to get here, but… it was.. too late. We were both too late." The weather mage said, his voice hollow and choked up. "You did it, Roy. You both did."

Roy turned his face and buried it in Rowen's chest, clutching at the older man's shirt helplessly. His entire body shook as he let out sob after sob; the pain was too much to bear.

"Marth knew that it was what he had to do. I heard his thoughts as he did… it," Rowen said solemnly. "I know there's nothing I can try to say to ease your pain, Roy."

"It's over. Everything is over."

"Roy, I'm sure Marth meant to tell you this, but he has an heir. Gwen will start showing signs of being with child in the next month. It's not all over- This country has a future."

"I'm… glad." The general whispered.

The news came as a bit of a surprise to Roy, but he didn't blame Marth for it. Marth knew exactly what he had been doing all along. He felt himself begin to calm down, but the knife-like pain in his chest did not ease up. Rowen frowned and pressed a hand to Roy's chest, closing his eyes and concentrating. After a moment, his eyes snapped open and he shook the auburn-haired young man by the shoulders.

"Roy, wake up! You can't let yourself waste away like this! The country still needs you." Rowen said, then thought: '_His heart is stopping. He doesn't want to live.'_

"I am awake, Rowen," Roy answered softly. He held up one closed hand and slowly opened it to reveal the fire-in-ice stone. Rowen picked it up out of his hand, knowing the stone very well. It was usually ice-cold with a strong flame burning inside it, but now the flame was gone for good.

The ghost of a smile flickered upon Roy's lips and he allowed his eyes to close. His body grew limp and his head tilted over to rest against Rowen's chest gently.

Tears slipped down Rowen's eyes as he clasped Roy's hand, the warmth of life still lingering in it. He looked at the hand of the young man- the hand of a child was not supposed to be calloused, its fingernails crusted with blood- They had been too young to go through what they did, but it was what fate, the strange mistress, had planned. The weather mage placed the fire-in-ice stone in Roy's hand and closed it.

The End of **Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn**

Epilogue coming soon.

Xan: ...I hate to tell you guys this, but we've been planning this ending for about a year now. We hope that all of you can understand why this had to happen, but if you look back at all the shit that's happened to Marth and Roy over these two monstrous pieces of fiction, you'll understand that it was the most humane thing to let them rest. If you're angry at us, we understand, but we hope you'll stick around for the epilogue and any other Xan-Vallen works to come. lights a candle for Marth and Roy

Vallen: No, we did not kill them off just because we were tired of writing the fic. We love this story and we planned this all along. Sorry… I was practically sobbing when I wrote the end of this chapter, but it had to be done. I'm sure they're happy now. They deserved a good ending. If you guys aren't too mad at us, we hope you'll stick around for the epilogue, where we tie everything off. sniffles and lights a candle too


End file.
